A Light in the Dark
by Greed720
Summary: He doesn't know who his father is, and he can barely remember his mother. Instead, he grew up in the system, for a time at least. All of this affected the way he turned out. Not that he really cares, after all, as far as Percy's concerned, his life is pretty great!
1. Chapter 1

**AN: So this story is a bit of a funny one. It is a retooling of a story I started on my Seagate profile a few years back called 'A Light In The Dark'. Suffice to say I quite liked the story at the time, but ended up being put off of it as I made it a Naruto/ Percy Jackson crossover, and… well let's just say some members of the Naruto fandom can be a bit… opinionated when you have opinions or ideas that they don't agree with.**

**Either way I ended up dropping that story as the comments I was receiving kind of sucked all the pleasure out of writing the story for me. That said I dusted it off on a whim today as I had a spare hour or two, and then edited it. Removing all the Naruto stuff from it, but keeping all the Percy Jackson stuff, as I retooled the plot and my ideas. I have to admit it was fun. Especially since it meant looking back at some of my early work and seeing how I've changed.**

**Either way, I hope you enjoy, the first pure Percy Jackson story I've written. Again just on a whim, but depending on a response, if it is good, I will continue. After all I've already got nearly a dozen stories on the go already, what's one more! I'm not as bad as some, as there are some authors who have literal over one hundred!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson series.**

**( - )**

**Chapter 1**

**( - )**

**(Manhattan)**

"I don't mind spending everyday..." A taller than average, dark haired teen, with broad shoulders, muttered to himself as he casually walked across the rooftop of one of the high rise buildings in Manhattan, absentmindedly trailing his hand along the cement balustrade beside him, even as he hummed along to the music coming out of his earphones.

"Out on your corner in the pouring rain..." The teen than continued under his breath as he came to a sudden halt, and set the case he was carrying down on the roof of the building. His dark brown, almost black eyes gleaming as he opened up the case he was holding and then began to assemble the weapon within, his hands moving the components of his weapon to their proper place with practiced ease.

"Look for the girl with the broken smile..." The teen continued, even as he finished assembling his weapon and then lifted it up, revealing it to be a curved, compound bow, which was made entirely out of Stygian Iron.

Swinging his weapon up and give it a testing draw, he then took a half dozen, Stygian Iron tipped arrows out of the case and leant them most of them against the railing, even as he nocked one of the arrows and then drew it back, the bodkin point nearly touching his hand as he narrowed his eyes and began searching for his target.

"Ask her if she wants to stay awhile..." The dark haired teen continued to murmur, even as he scanned the streets of Manhattan below him, the wind ruffling his short, dark hair as he continued to search the quiet streets below.

Fortunately it did not take him too long to lock onto his target, or rather targets. They were there below him, as he had been told they would be. A group of four demigods were making their way through one of the back alleys of Manhattan. And they were Roman demigods too, a Son of Mars, a Daughter of Apollo and two Sons of Mercury.

A small squad of demigods from Camp Jupiter, all of whom had been recently sent out on a quest by the Senate of New Rome. They were a prime target, one that he would no doubt of targeted anyway, even if he had not been contracted to assassinate them.

"And she will be loved..." The teen whispered again, drawing his bow back even further as he locked in on his main mark, the Son of Mars, who was walking slight ahead of his comrades.

The boy was a stocky lad, who was maybe sixteen or seventeen years old, and was noticeably wearing an Imperial Gold breastplate over his purple camp shirt. His three comrades were all dressed similar, each of them wearing some form of armour over the top of their purple camp shirts.

On top of that, the only noticeable weapons the group were carrying was an Imperial Gold crossbow, which was in possession of the Daughter of Apollo, and a spear which was held by one of the Sons of Mercury. Not that he thought for a moment that the other two weren't armed, not when they were in the middle of a Quest.

"And she will be loved..." He muttered one last time, focusing in on his target, a frown of concentration on his face, even as he released his arrow. The black tipped arrow exploding from the bow with immense force, as it hurtled through the air and down at the squad of four Demigods.

A few moments later and the arrow struck home, the Stygian Iron tip driving itself through the Son of Mars' eye socket, a spray of blood spattering the three other demigods behind him. Each of whom looked at the falling body of their comrade in absolute shock.

The teen however was not distracted by the falling Son of Mars, instead he picked up another arrow, nocked it and drew back his bow with practiced ease. One of his eyes closing, even as he took aim again, quickly locking in on the Daughter of Apollo, before he released yet another arrow.

Unfortunately though the element of surprise was lost, and the Daughter of Apollo's swift actions caused the Stygian Iron arrow to strike the concrete floor instead, the bodkin point gouging deep into the tarmac below.

Undeterred he picked up another arrow and took aim at one of the demigods still in the open, drawing the bow back once again he unloosed another arrow, this one striking one of the Sons of Mercury in the chest. The arrow taking him through the heart at the same time as he was unsheathing an Imperial Gold gladius from under his coat, the arrow tearing through his leather armour as if it was not even there.

Collapsing to the floor the Son of Mercury was slain instantly.

Taking advantage of the situation the Daughter of Apollo shot to her feet, swinging her crossbow up as she did so. After which, the girl, using her natural born sharp eyes and skill at marksmanship, found his location on the roof, raising her crossbow as she did so, even as she sent a gold tipped bolt at his position, the bolt tearing through the air with brutal as it shot towards him, only for him to sidestep it with ease.

Raising his bow once more, he then loosed another arrow, taking less than five seconds to target the girl, draw the bow and release the arrow. The arrow catching the girl through the throat even as she once again tried to duck behind cover.

Swivelling around he tried to take aim at the last remaining demigod, the spear wielding Son of Mercury. The smartest of the bunch, as, the moment the ambush started he had had dived behind a nearby bin, his barely visible body noticeably heaving slightly as he panicked.

Narrowing his eyes at this, he drew another arrow and focused on the teen, his gaze picking up a part of the boys chest, which poked out slightly from behind his cover.

Once more drawing his bow, taking a breath as he did so, the assassin then released yet another arrow, this one tearing through the air and impacting the part of the boy's body that was visible.

Collapsing sideways the Son of Mercury's body fell to the floor without a sound.

Rolling his shoulders, Percy Jackson allow his bow to hang limply by his side, even as slight smile tugged at his lips. Another successful mission.

With that though Percy calmly began to take apart and pack up his bow. Carefully dissembling it and packing it all into his case, along with his single spare arrow, before he then closed it with a snapping sound.

With that done, Percy then walked to the edge of the building, before, with a deep breath he jumped.

In response he felt a tugging in his gut, even as he drew on one of his own, natural born abilities. His entire body becoming surrounded in a with a golden glowing light, as he used the ability he called 'Meteor' to shoot through the sky like a bullet, heading down to where the recent massacre had just occurred.

Yeah, he had magic/ superpowers, or Demigod abilities as he now knew them to be. With 'Meteor' just being one facet of these abilities, as well as being the one he enjoyed using the most.

In truth he had had these abilities ever since he was born, which had been over fifteen years ago now, to a kind, if slightly gullible, woman called Sally Jackson, and a deadbeat god, whose name and identify he didn't even know.

Not only had he been born with these abilities though, he had had to learn how to use them quickly too. Especially after his another god, yet again he didn't know this one's identity either, took an interest in his Clear Sighted mother back when Percy was five. Enough so that he wanted to court her, even if that meant using magic to forcibly get rid of the baggage, i.e. Percy.

Exactly what the god had done, Percy didn't know. All he knew was that suddenly his mother didn't know who he was, this being despite her supposed Clear Sightedness, which in theory should have allowed her to see through any divine or magical illusion. No, for reason unbeknown to him she ignored his existence, hence why Percy soon found himself in the system.

All of this Percy of course learned later on in life, when he was about twelve, and he had a run in with a satyr, a Greek monster, or nature spirit, he wasn't sure which one really, that found him whilst he was in the midst of fleeing from his current, shitty foster home in Canada. Only for said satyr to let him in on the big secret that the gods were real, and that the reason for his abilities, were because one of the fuckers had knocked up his mum and then done a runner.

The satyr of course died soon later, killed off by a Hellhound that mistook him for lunch. But he did still serve a purpose, he let Percy in on one of the big secrets of this world, as well as providing a good distraction for Percy to leg it and escape.

Three years later, and after a lot of soul searching and introspection, especially on just how shit the gods were, and how much they had screwed up his life, and here Percy was, thriving in life, as either magical mercenary for hire or a scavenger, depending on your point of view.

Descending to the ground a few moments later, the golden glow around Percy's body soon vanished as he released his hold on his Meteor ability as his booted feet landing once more back on solid ground.

A few moments later and he was walking across the ground, heading in the direction of the dead demigods, the case that was holding his bow in his left hand as he walked.

Casually strolling across the silent street, Percy approached the dead bodies of the four fallen demigods, a disinterested look on his face as he pulled out an eight inch long, hunting knife from where it was strapped on the small of his back. With him starting to idly flip it in his hand, as he walked across the street.

His dark eyes flicking over to look into a large puddle on the ground as he passed. His crooked smile widening as he checked out his reflection in the puddle. Still as handsome and dashing as ever.

Though really, in his humble opinion, he did cut a striking figure. What with his broad shoulders, and stocky, muscled frame, his black, fur lined parka coat, and Stygian Iron breastplate just adding to his stature. On top of that his short, thick, yet somehow still messy black hair, and dark brown almost black, almond shaped eyes, along with his naturally tanned skin tone, all gave him a somewhat exotic look.

Turning away from his reflection, Percy instead approached the dead bodies in the alley. With him walking up to the Son of Mars, his main target, first. Absentmindedly hooking his foot beneath his body as he did so, before he kicked him up so he was facing upwards.

With that done, Percy crouched down slightly and began to run his hands over the dead boy's body, checking for any potential loot.

Fortunately, it did not take him long to find something, as within a few seconds he came across an Imperial Gold ring on the boy's hand, a cool little item that when pulled off the finger turned into a golden gladius.

Twirling the short sword around in his hand, Percy, checked the balance of the blade, giving it a few test swings as he did so.

Satisfied he then willed it back into the form of a ring before slipping it onto the forefinger of his left hand. After which he went back to sifting through the rest of the boy's belongings, with him quickly pocketing a bottle of nectar and a bag of ambrosia.

Next he began to unbuckle the Imperial Gold armour the boy was wearing, already making plans for what to do with the rare, and valuable chunk of divine golden metal. Pulling it off him he quickly sequestered it in an enchanted satchel that was massively expanded, a trophy he had taken from one of the other demigods he had killed a year or two back, this one having been a Norse one if he were not mistaken.

Finishing with the Son of Mars Percy soon moved onto the other bodies, looting them without a care for deference or respect for dead, as he instead dug about in their pockets and stripped them of any godly items that may come in use.

A couple of minutes later though, as he was bagging up the Daughter of Apollo's crossbow he was attacked. The Son of Mercury, the one who he had shot last, it appeared was faking his death, because, when he approached the boy's body to loot it, he was suddenly forced to dodge to the side as the blonde Son of Mercury lunged forward, his spear aimed at Percy's heart.

Not that it did much good though, as Percy had been ready for it. Which is why, as the boy thrust his spear forward, Percy shifted to the side with practiced ease, his case and mundane knife falling to the floor as he grabbed the shaft of the Roman Demigod's spear with one hand. His hand twisting as he did so, even as he gripped it with the other hand and then wrenched the weapon out of the boy's grasp.

With that done, Percy through the spear to one side, and instead brought his hand up to one of the necklaces that were around his neck. The necklace in question being one with a bronze chain, which in turn had a charm on it that was in the shape of a khopesh, a curved Egyptian blade that he had acquired from another of his fallen marks.

Pulling the charm off his necklace it soon expanded to form a two foot long blade made of Celestial Bronze. Twirling it in Percy then stepped forward, batting the Son of Mercury's perfunctory swipe of dagger, as he then slashed downwards, the curved blade slicing through the boy's Imperial Gold chain mail and traveling down as Percy then disembowelled him.

Stepping back, twirling his blade once again and flicking the blood off it as he did so, Percy then looked down at the deceased boy before him. Only this time, Percy couldn't help but feel a hollow feeling in his stomach at the sight of scared expression forever plastered on the dead boy's face.

He should feel bad about killing like this, but honestly, he didn't. This was a kill or be kill world. Those who were weak died, while the strong thrived, this he knew, he had lived it after all, for years now. But even so, surely he should still feel something, anything? Yet for some reason he didn't.

**( - )**

**(A few minutes later)**

Walking away from the four deceased Roman demigods, the dark haired teen heard a ringing sound emanating from his coat pocket. Reaching into said pocket he hooked out a mobile phone he had acquired.

Looking down and recognising the number Percy brought it to his ear and answered.

"_Is it done?" _Came a distorted voice from the phone. _"Is the Centurion of the first Cohort and his supporters dead?"_

"Yeah, yeah, all four of them have been taken care of. Have you dropped off my money at the designated point?" Percy said into the phone, even as he exited the back alley, easily slipping in with the crowds on the street a few minutes later, a slight smile on his face as he made eye contact with the people he passed.

"_It has been dropped off, five thousand aureus. Our business is finished." _The voice continued, a slight smug note the person on the other end's tone as they did so.

"Well yes we are almost finished. But one more thing, just a little warning in case anything goes wrong." Percy replied cheerfully, a smile still on his face as he did so. "Let me just say I know who you are, and I know where you live."

"_What?" _The voice replied with a slight note of panic in it now.

"Yes, Octavian, the Legacy of Apollo and the Augur of Camp Jupiter, I know who you are. So don't fuck with me!" Percy continued, his voice still genial. He had dealt with people like this before and he knew there is only one way to keep them in line. "So I trust all the money will be in the designated spot as if it is not..."

"_The money will be there." _The voice replied slightly shakily before he hung up the phone.

"Ha idiot." Percy said with a bark of laughter as he put away his phone, and it was true after all the only reason he knew that the person on the phone was Octavian was because he had not withheld his number when he rang him. So honestly, all it took for him to find out who the caller was, was to redial and listen to their voice mail... so yeah he was an idiot. Or at least someone who didn't have that much of a clue about technology.

**( - )**

**(The Next Day)**

Lying down on the uncomfortable, lumpy bed, in his rented room just outside of New York City, Percy couldn't keep a smile off his face. He had just returned minutes early from the predesignated drop off point, a large bag containing five thousand gold aureus in hand.

It had been a good payday, he got a shit tonne of gold and a few cool new trophies too. In fact he would say it had been a pretty good day all round.

Though, Percy's face darkened, it was looking to be getting somewhat worse.

Turning his head slightly to the side, Percy took note of the shadows in the corner of the room thickening, until soon enough another figure appeared in the room. The person in question being a tall, skinny woman, with a thin, stern looking face. The older woman in question currently wearing a black, leather biker jacket, the shadows around her fading away as she stepped into the room and looked around.

Percy knew who this was, it was, Alecto, one of Hades' Furies/ minions, and a 'friendly' monster that he had dealt with many times before on behalf of her Master.

"Ahh Alecto, how good to see you again! Having a good day?" Percy said sarcastically as he looked up at the woman from where he was still lying on the bed. His body tense and ready to leap into action, even if outwardly he looked calm and chilled.

"Jackson." The woman said, a frown on her face as she looked down at the boy on the bed before her. "Still as obnoxious as ever I see!"

"You know it." Percy replied cheerfully, answering her statement as if it were a question, "Now, what do you want?"

"I have a job for you, from my Master." Alecto said as she took a step closer to Percy's bed, a cruel glint in her eyes as she looked down at the dark haired teen.

"Oh really and what does cold, dark and miserable want with me this time? Tell me does he need me to walk his pet dog, Cerberus, or something?" Percy replied glibly, slightly amused as he saw a flash of anger cross Alecto's face. She really didn't like him.

"He has an important mission for you, and this one is of absolute importance!" Alecto replied bluntly, her face still twisted into an expression of intense dislike, even as she swallowed her distaste for Percy and got on with the job at hand.

"Oh, well now I am really intrigued! So tell me, what's the job?" Percy replied, pushing himself up from the bed as he did so.

"You are to retrieve two of my Master's children from Westover Academy, a military school in Maine. Their names are Nico and Bianca di Angelo, the only living Demigod children of my Master! As such it is crucial that they are recovered quickly, and alive, and then delivered to their father with all haste." Alecto replied with deadly seriousness to Percy.

As he heard the job Percy raised his eyebrows in surprise, this really was a big job. Probably his biggest one yet, after all his usual jobs just involved simple kill missions, either Demigod or monsters, or protection gigs for a favoured child or trinket.

With that in mind, Percy decided to ask something that suddenly occurred to him. "So why me then? Old doom and gloom has the full power of the Underworld behind him, surely he had a lot of other options than a humble, lowly Demigod like me?"

"He wants this kept low key, as he does not want his brothers to know. After all they do have a habit of actively trying to murder his children." Alecto replied bluntly, not even batting an eye at the way he addressed her Master, or at his description of himself. Clearly this matter was pretty damn important. "For all that you are little more than feckless, bottom feeding scavenger, you are at least subtle, and efficient."

Well maybe not that important, after all she did just get a few good digs in at him.

"Fair enough, so what's the pay?" Percy said agreeably, pushing himself off of his lumpy mattress as he began to move around his room packing up his belongings as he did so. "After all, even 'feckless, bottom feeding scavengers' don't work for free!"

"What do you want?" Alecto replied with a sigh, she dealt with this from Percy before.

"Oooh exciting." Percy replied, a bright grin on his face as he did so. "So I don't need any more money, I am all good for it at the moment. What I would like though is a Blessing, Hades' will do!"

"Out of the question." Alecto shot back bluntly, her pinched face twisting into an expression of disgust at the thought of someone like Percy bearing her Master's Blessing. "Ask for something else!"

"Well, it was worth a try." Percy shrugged unperturbed, he had asked for Hades' Blessing before, only for him to be rebuffed every time. Turns out most gods were surprisingly stingy when it came to giving out portions of their power, in the form of a Blessing. Who knew!? "Fine, I want a new weapon."

"Was the Stygian Iron, compound bow the smiths of the Underworld crafted for you not enough?" Alecto asked curiously.

"No, no it is useful. Though it would be handy if it had one of those cool little enchantments which made it shrink into something smaller, and innocuous, you know like a charm I could stick on a necklace. But no, this is a different weapon." Percy replied with a shrug, packing the last of his belongings into his satchel as he did so.

"And what kind of weapon?" Alecto asked tiredly.

"I'm thinking an axe! Something that can cut through mail, and crack armour plate, if you know what I mean?" Percy replied with a smile on his face, only to pause as he saw Alecto's cocked eyebrow. "What can I say, I ran into this Norse Demigod a few weeks back. A proper big bastard too, I reckon he was a son of one of their war gods. Either way, I managed to take the bastard down, but not before he landed a nasty blow on me. He nearly killed me too, I mean seriously, it cracked my Celestial Bronze cuirass, broke a couple of ribs and knocked all the air out of my lungs, and left a bruise on my side, the size of a football!"

Alecto continued to send him a dry look at this explanation, though her lips did twitch upwards in pleasure as Percy described his injury. Something which he definitely noticed, the spiteful cow.

"But yeah, like I said, I want one! I would have taken the Norse guy's one, had one of those Valkyrie tarts not taken it first, was a real nice one too." Percy pouted, it had been a few weeks ago now and he was fully recovered, but even so he was still a bit put out about his misfortune.

"Fine, I will pass on your request." Alecto sighed, rubbing at her temples as she did so, as if she were attempting to push back a growing headache.

"Great! That'll pay for one of the brats, also give it one of those enchantments which can turn it into a charm or something too, oh and make it Stygian Iron as well!" Percy replied, a grin on his face as he saw the irritation on Alecto's face. "As for the other brat, well you can take my bow back and stick an enchantment on it too, so that it turns into a small charm as well. I'm getting sick and tired of carrying it about in a case and assembling it!"

With that said he dug about in his satchel and pulled out the case containing his bow. After which he threw it over to the unamused Alecto. "Get it back to me as soon as possible."

"Do the job first and then you will get your reward, both your axe, and the charm on your bow." Alecto replied harshly, though she did catch the case and hold it down at her side.

"See you when the job is done then." Percy replied with a slight laugh, even as he saw Alecto fade into the shadows. He really did enjoy messing with Hades' Furies. Though that said, he did have to ensure he didn't go too far, after all Hades was one of his most frequent, and generous employers.

Turning back to his bed, he quickly gave it a once over to make sure he had collected up all of his stuff, only to pause as noticed a file waiting innocuously for him on his pillow.

Sighing at the sight of the file, he scooped it up and opened it, and then began to read the short profile he had received on both of Hades' children. As he continued reading the file a smile slowly crept onto his face. "So Maine then... sounds fun!"

**( - )**

**AN: So what do you all think? Did you enjoy the chapter? I will say though that is feelings towards the gods, and lack of empathy for his fellow Demigods will be explained as the story progresses. Though it won't be in an over the top, angsty, edgy manner that I know some authors enjoy doing. **

**On top of that we'll get more of Percy's back story, and his new abilities, because I will say right now, this is a story where Poseidon is not his father! Although I do love the abilities associated with Poseidon, I fancied trying something new. On top of that this Percy is slightly old than canon one. Think of it like an AU Percy, there will be some similarities with his canon counterpart, but also a lot of differences. After all we are very much shaped by our experiences and by the places and people we grow up with and around. And suffice to say, Percy has had a rough childhood. **

**On top of that a warning. Percy is not a flawless character, he will draw incorrect conclusion and stick to flawed opinions. On top of which he will occasionally act like a shitheel at times, and not be entirely likeable. Then again at other times he will be likeable, and will do decent things. Which is to say, in spite of the whole godly thing, he is still very much human. So therefore a contradictory being capable of both great good and great evil.**

**So yep, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and leave a review.**

**Thanks for reading.**

**Greed720.**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: So wow a big response to the last chapter, most of which was positive! Thanks a lot for all the support, I really appreciate it! **

**That said there were a few issues raised which I will endeavour to cover in the AN at the bottom if you are interest. For now though, as a cheers for the support I have a monster of a chapter for you, I hope you enjoy!**

**Thanks for reading and all the support, I hope you continue to read, review and enjoy etc!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson.**

**( - )**

**(Last Time)**

_"See you when the job is done then." Percy replied with a slight laugh, even as he saw Alecto fade into the shadows. He really did enjoy messing with Hades' Furies. Though that said, he did have to ensure he didn't go too far, after all Hades was one of his most frequent, and generous employers._

_Turning back to his bed, he quickly gave it a once over to make sure he had collected up all of his stuff, only to pause as noticed a file waiting innocuously for him on his pillow. _

_Sighing at the sight of the file, he scooped it up and opened it, and then began to read the short profile he had received on both of Hades' children. As he continued reading the file a smile slowly crept onto his face. "So Maine then... sounds fun!"_

**( - )**

**Chapter 2**

**( - )**

**(With Percy)**

Percy Jackson was not happy, not happy at all.

Looking around at his surroundings, the reasons for his displeasure were obvious, the dark haired Demigod had somehow found himself traveling on that backrow of an overcrowded bus to some shitty Military Academy in the middle of nowhere.

Now one might be asking what exactly was he, Perseus Jackson, Son of one god or other, doing taking a bus of things. Especially if one was to take into account of the fact that Percy had found out he had the ability to fly.

A highly useful and unique skill to him it appeared, a Demigod ability he called 'Meteor', which when he used it, enshrouded his body in glowing, golden light, and which massively increased his speed, and allowed him to fly, almost like a shooting star.

Again, due to Percy's access to this ability, it certainly begged the question of just why he was sat on a noisy, sweaty bus. Sat just in front of a rather large, heavy woman, who at that very moment was talking vary loudly to her friend and ignoring the fact that her brat/ baby was screaming and shrieking in her arms.

In all honesty though, the reason as actually quite simple. It was all so he could travel under the radar so to speak. After all he was traveling to Westover Military Academy for a reason. He was heading there to find and safely extract two brats/ children of Hades, before returning them to their father.

Which on paper sounds simple enough, especially for a highly effective, morally ambiguous and skilled Demigod like Percy. Except of course, that he had to fulfil this mission without attracting the attention of Zeus, the God of the Sky and Thunder, and the rest of the Olympian Council. All of whom, if they found out what he was doing, would no doubt kill him and the children of Hades.

Turns out the gloomy God of the Underworld and the Dead, was not a particularly popular person up in Olympus. Go figure.

Not that Percy was all that surprised. After all he had met tall dark and creepy three times now, and he had to say the guy didn't seem like he would be the life and soul of the party.

In fact, the guy was a bit of a prick. Then again he was a prick that paid Percy, so there was of course that, which did go in his favour in regards to Percy's opinion on the God of the Dead.

Sighing slightly as he tried to block out the sound of the screaming baby, Percy picked up the folder Alecto had given him and began to flick through the last few details of the school he was going to, in order to "break out" the two brats of Hades.

Bianca and Nico D'Angelo, siblings, an older sister and younger brother, both of whom were born in the early 1900's. He had to say their story was almost as miserable as his own. Then again at least they had known their mother before they lost her, Percy hadn't even had that chance before he was thrown away like day old milk.

Either way, his own shit show of a backstory aside, they had apparently been put into a Casino by their father back in the 1940s after their mother had been killed by Zeus, and been left there for decades without realising it. Apparently they had not aged a day as the Lotus Hotel and Casino somehow stopped people from aging…

Hmm, go figure, maybe he should give the place a whirl sometime?

Still though, Percy considered being abandoned by both his godly father and mortal mother and dumbed in an orphanage, and then sent from place to place, unwanted and unloved, was considerably worse. He had to grow up in Canada for fucks sake, and French Canada too for that matter!

Not that the people weren't pleasant and the scenery spectacular. It was just bloody cold, and dark and wet! Three things Percy despised! He was more a beach person than mountains. California, Spain, Portugal, Barbados, Italy that was his kind of place. Canada, Alaska, Minnesota, not so much!

Still, the system had toughened him up, and forced him to rely on himself. To look out for number one! Again, he blamed the lack of parental figures in his life, that and the fact that no fucker had ever loved him, or even given him a hug. The arseholes!

Not that Percy was bitter or anything like that.

No, he was awesome and wouldn't have changed a thing in his life! Who know what kind of a person he would have been, had he been brought up in a loving home, with a doting mother and a half decent father?

Shaking his head at that thought, Percy pushed away his musings on his poor childhood, and the reason for why he was how he was.

Instead he focused on the matter at hand, the plan.

Now Percy, in his own humble opinion, was a pretty experienced Demigod at this point. He had been traveling the world since he was twelve, he'd been forced to grow up early on, and had honed his skills, and abilities in many battles and fights. During this time, he had fought both mindless beasts, and intelligent humans and monsters.

Three years he had been in this life, and already he had amassed quite a bit of money, and acquired a whole range of divine items and spoils.

His instinctive mastery of his Demigod abilities, and natural talent for archery and swordsmanship had all made him a pretty efficient, and ferocious killer. On top of which he was pretty good at tactics and planning.

Born with a low, sly, devious cunning, and a complete disregard for respect or propriety, that is how one orphanage matron had described him.

That said though, despite all of this, the plan that Percy had come up with to extract the Hades' brats was so simple that even an eight year old Percy could have thought of it.

The academy was apparently holding its annual party, one which they apparently held every year before the school broke up for the Christmas Holidays.

From what he had read on the school website the party was going to be taking place in the school's gym, and would be running from 6 pm to 10 pm.

This meant that there would be a lot of people in the gymnasium, having a good time and dancing around to music, which in turn should give Percy plenty of cover to find the two children, quietly extract them, and then hand them off to the waiting Alecto, all without being noticed.

Basically he was going to waltz into the school under the guise as a student, kidnap, and incapacitate if necessary, the Hades' brats, and then leave them with Alecto who would be waiting in the shadows outside for him. Far enough away that she wouldn't reveal their identities, or endanger them, but close enough that Percy would only need to get them out of the school grounds in order to hand them off to her.

Already he had changed his clothing into something more fitting of a school dance; including a crisp, white shirt, a pair of plain, black trousers, black, polished shoes, and a black school blazer, emblazoned on the breast with the school crest, with slightly puffed up white shoulder pads.

Yes it looked ridiculous, but it was also the mandatory academy dress uniform, and unless he wanted to stick out like a sore thumb, he would have to wear it. Overall he just looked like a normal teenager going to a dance, it would make his job easier if he blended into the crowd, people would ask less questions.

Plus he had a spare change of clothes in his ever handy, and convenient expanded satchel.

A screeching sound and a slight jolt, suddenly pulled Percy from his thoughts. The sudden jerk that effected his body, causing him to look up, only for him to he see that the bus had come to a stop. With there already being a small group of similarly dressed teenagers queuing to get off.

Looking out of the window Percy could see the dark silhouette of a gothic looking building in the distance, the view easily matching the picture of the school he had found on the internet.

Getting to his feet Percy happily joined the back of the now moving queue, glad to finally be getting off the bus and away from screaming babies.

The other teenagers around Percy didn't bat an eye as he joined them on their slow trudge up to the school from the bus stop, clearly thinking that he was just one of the many nameless younger years that the older children never bothered to get to know.

As he walked behind them Percy smirked as he heard the group of boys bantering about how they had been able to 'score some beers' for the upcoming dance, which of course led Percy to believe that these older students had been off somewhere they shouldn't, which in turn would mean that they would have to sneak in.

A popular saying Percy had heard was that 'there was always safety in numbers', which was why he was more than happy to follow behind the older teens and sneak into the school the same way they did.

**( - )**

**(Sometime later)**

Things had been going so well to begin with. Percy had easily been able to get into the school, sneaking through an open window with some of the giggling, chuckling older students, who amusingly enough had threatened him with a 'beating' if he told on them. After which he had made his way to the school's main hall, with no one even glancing in his direction as he strolled into the busy, gaudily decorated hall like he belonged.

Upon entering he had noted that the hall/ gymnasium, was some hundred metres long and was probably sixty or so metres wide, if not slightly more.

Not long after entering, Percy quickly noted the dozens of boys, from ten to seventeen/ eighteen, wearing their Academy dress uniforms, and girls of similar ages, wearing an assortment of gowns and dresses that varied in colours and styles, scattered about in clumps all around the room.

Looking around upon first entering, Percy had smiled as he saw just how crowded the gym was, more so than he would have thought. It would make smuggling out the brats a doddle, even if there were monsters already converging on this point.

Unfortunately however, things soon went wrong. After all, moments after entering the hall, and taking a dozen or so steps inside, Percy quickly zeroed in on three demigods, each of them standing out immediately, not only because off the faint, barely perceptible scent they gave off. But also because they were all wearing their own casual clothes whilst the rest of the hall was in either the academy dress uniform or in dresses, so yeah they visually stood out. Yeah, there were three additional Demigods present, and none of them were the ones he was hoping for!

The first demigod he spotted was a girl who had golden blonde, curly hair that went down to her shoulders and sharp, grey eyes that seemed to dart around, as if she were attempting to look at, and analyse, everything she could.

The next one was a boy who looked maybe a year or two younger than Percy probably around thirteen or fourteen. He was relatively tall for his age and had the build of a swimmer, though from the way he walked Percy could tell that he was also a fighter. That said, he didn't look like he was especially well trained, but he still looked like a fighter. So a natural one, if not a well-trained and experience one.

Upon seeing the boy's green eyes and his black hair though, Percy was able to recognise him, his lip curling upwards at the site of him. He was Theo Jackson the Son of Poseidon; he had heard mention of him.

Apparently he was some up and coming big, shot hero who had won some recent recognition after completing a quest to find Zeus's Lightning Bolt. Percy didn't' really know much more, as he usually stayed away the different Demigod Camps. After all, although he was more than happy to engage with other Demigods outside of the Camps, he didn't want to do so when they were in them. After all there was a chance they would try and trap him into going, and for some reason that made him distinctly uncomfortable.

That said, he had paid more attention to Theo, or rather Theseus Jackson's story, especially when he heard the familiar last name.

That said, looking at him now. Percy quickly dismissed any real connection. The boy's eyes were different to his own, and his build was different. His facial features although similar in regards to the shape of their noses, were otherwise noticeably different. On top of which this was the Son of Poseidon!

Now, Percy did know that his mother had abandoned him after another god, not his father, waltzed into her life. But would she really have spat out another Demigodly child, with this one being fathered by one of the Big Three?

It was possible, but looking at the boy from across the room, Percy couldn't help but dismiss any familial connection. It was a coincidence, that they had the same last name nothing more. Plus who knew, maybe Jackson wasn't even his mother's last name, it might just have been a generic one slapped on the young baby Perseus at the orphanage.

No, this boy was just another stranger. A Demigod like any other. He was beneath Percy's notice!

Nodding his head resolutely at that, and pushing down the sudden knot that had formed in his stomach at the sight of the other boy. Percy instead looked to the last member of the group.

Upon looking over at her though, the final Demigod of the group quickly caught Percy's eye. Out of the trio she looked to be the most competent, and by far the most dangerous!

Looking at her stance and the way the blonde girl seemed to defer to her he was able to come the conclusion that she was either the leader of the quest, or was the most experienced of the group.

The main reason he was able to tell this was that he could see her manipulating the mist, which was basically a worldwide, divine, god level illusion that covered the entire world and hid the divine from mortals.

Luckily though it didn't work on Percy, because as a Demigod he could see through it. Focusing in on the girl though, he quickly noticed how she was directing and manipulating the Mist with just a single hand, using it to cover both her and her friends from any scrutiny, after all if she didn't they would be called out on the fact that her group were clearly not supposed to be here.

Percy had to admit it, he was jealous. He had always been shit at manipulating the Mist, though that might mainly be because he didn't have a proper teacher, and hence didn't know how to do it properly. Despite this though, the fact that this girl, who looked barely older than him, was manipulating it on a large scale with ease, was still irritating.

Deciding to ignore what she was doing Percy turned his eyes onto the girl herself, and he had to say he liked what he saw.

Her hair was raven black and cut quite short, with it then being styled to be spiky, the look was quite striking as it was not one Percy saw often. Her frame was also slight and lithe, and she was fairly short probably about two or three inches shorter than his height of five foot ten inches.

But the thing that stood out the most to him was the power that she was exuding, it was intense, probably more so than the Theo Jackson boy. Though Percy would grudgingly admit he was strong too. Not as strong as Percy though, or at least not in his humble opinion. But still, for her age she was powerful, so much so that he was surprised he hadn't heard of her before!

It was only as she turned around to look in his direction, her electric blue eyes seemingly searching for something in the crowd that he came to a realisation.

She was a Daughter of Zeus! He had met another child of the God's Roman aspect, Jupiter, just a few months ago. The boy had been maybe a year or so younger than Percy, and had been on quest when he had met him. But still he also had those exact same electric blue eyes as the girl and the same powerful presence, though again not as intense as this girls', then again he was younger.

"Both another child of Zeus as well as a son of Poseidon? Strange coincidence that all three of the Gods who swore not to have children would all have children running about the world at the same time..." Percy chuckled to himself; he always found it amusing how these things worked out.

Turning his gaze back to the girl, Percy found himself sizing her up, she did seem very powerful, but Percy was pretty positive that he could beat her handily if they were to fight.

For one he probably had more fighting experience than the girl. After all, where she had probably been being pampered and looked after in Camp Half Blood all these years, he had been roughing it out on the street.

Plus she likely only had experience of properly fighting monsters. Percy, he had experience of fighting both monsters and other Demigods!

Then finally there were her abilities. The powers that most children of Zeus wielded were well-known. She would either wield, with a high degree of control, either wind or lighting, or maybe both. Physically she, like the other children of the Big Three, would also probably be stronger, faster and more agile than most other Demigods too.

This Percy already knew.

He however had a set of abilities which, as far as he knew, were unique to him, and thus unknown to most. On top of that even he didn't know who his father was, so the chances of his enemies knowing were slim to none, and so therefore were his father's Domains and any weakness he might have.

Again, he didn't know this either. But he had, through years of trial, error and testing, and his own natural affinity for his abilities; worked out what his Demigod abilities were and how to use them, plus he had developed his skill with them and worked out their weaknesses.

Either way if they were to fight, Percy would have all the advantages, and was pretty sure he would win hands down. The same was true were he to fight the child of Poseidon and the child of Athena too.

That said, if he were to face all three of them at the same time... Well then he might be in trouble. A child of Poseidon and a child of Zeus were both individually two powerful foes, when backed up by a child of Athena too.

Well it would be a very difficult combination to overcome. Or at least it would, if he were not able to use the element of surprise to strike first!

Shaking his head at that, Percy took his eyes off of the group for now and instead turned his attention to the rest of the hall, his eyes scanning his surroundings as he tried to find the two children of Hades.

He tried to sense them but came up with nothing. It shouldn't be too difficult as the children were quite distinctive, or at least their pictures made them look quite distinctive.

He only wished he could use the Mist, after all then he could be a bit more noticeable in his searching, all under the cover of the Mist. Unfortunately though he couldn't, and even if he could, he doubted his actions would pass unnoticed considering the other group of Demigods in the room. And as he didn't really fancy fighting off three demigods whilst also searching for his targets, all whilst avoiding detection from Olympus, it appeared like he would have to search for his quarry in the quieter, more subtle way.

**( - )**

**(With Thalia)**

Thalia was concerned, for the last few minutes she had had the uncomfortable feeling of someone watching her.

Upon feeling she was being watched, she had given up on observing the two new Demigods her satyr friend, Grover, had pointed out to them and had instead started scanning the crowd looking for their watcher.

The reason she was so concerned of course, was because she was currently using the Mist to avoid detection. Strictly speaking nobody should be able to see them, not unless they were able to see through the Mist. Now there was a chance it could just be a clear sighted mortal, a mortal able to see through the Mist, but they were insanely rare! More likely was that it was a powerful monster!

Her thoughts however were soon interrupted by Grover. The satyr in question was wearing the academy dress uniform; with the most distinctive thing about him being his curly red hair, and his goat legs which were currently hidden under his trousers.

Previously, he like the rest of them had been keeping an eye on the Di Angelo children, waiting for the right opportunity to get them out of here before the monster Grover had been smelling found them. But now though he was looking around just like Thalia, only his eyes were wide in fear.

"What's the matter Grover?" Thalia asked, her voice quiet as she looked at her now nervous looking friend.

"There is someone else here, someone powerful!" Grover replied quickly, his eyes scanning the crowd as he tried to lock onto the person he was smelling. He had caught the scent a while ago but had dismissed it as just a legacy due the scent being weak. But it had quickly become stronger and stronger, no doubt as the person in question drew nearer, so much so that he could no longer ignore it.

"A Demigod?"

"I don't know it smells similar, but different I can't quite describe what it smells like!" Grover said, his body beginning to calm down slightly as he got used to the potent scent, though he was still not able to lock in on it, not with Thalia, Annabeth, Theo and the Di Angelo children being in such close proximity.

Upon hearing this Thalia became even more concerned. Now it seemed that there was some unknown Demigod running around, along with a powerful monster.

This was not looking good.

Turning around she decided to announce to the rest of the group that they would take the two Demigods now, things were getting too complicated.

There were becoming more and more variables that could potentially interfere. It was with this in mind that she decided it would be best to take the first move.

With that in mind, she turned around to tell the others. Only for her to find herself face to face with her blonde friend, Annabeth Chase, a daughter of Athena, a frown present on her face as she opened her mouth to say something.

With a sinking feeling Thalia knew that whatever she was going to say it wouldn't be good.

**( - )**

**(With Percy)**

Percy had been searching the hall for several minutes, searching through the busy hall as he tried to spot two gloomy looking children in the sea of colourful dresses and excited faces. Only for his attention to once again fell on the trio of Demigods.

The blonde girl had just run up to the daughter of Zeus and began muttering something to her. Whatever it was she was saying though, must not have been good judging by the daughter of Zeus scowl.

Looking at the group again he noticed that one of them was missing, the son of Poseidon was gone. Flicking his eyes around the hall Percy tried to catch sight of him, but as he searched he was unable to find anything.

Turning back to look at the others he saw that they too had begun to leave the hall.

Scowling slightly Percy decided to follow.

So far he had been unable to find Nico or Bianca, which led him to believe that they may no longer be in the hall. And judging by the absence of the son of Poseidon and the fact the others were leaving, he was able to conclude that maybe they had found the children of Hades before Percy had, and were already in the midst of taking them away.

Quickly exiting the gym Percy's body soon disappeared, his dark eyes flashing a faint gold for a single moment, before he complete vanished from sight.

Slowing his breathing, and lightening his footstep, Percy then quickly sped up as he continued to follow the sound of the Demigod's retreating footsteps. With the now invisible Demigod soon leaving the school by the main entrance, and heading out onto the grounds as he continued to track his new quarry.

Upon exiting the school, the large moon overhead lighting the way. Percy's form momentarily became visible once more, but only for a moment before he disappeared again, his sharp eyes flicking around the grounds as he did so, before focusing on the rest of the Demigods in the distance.

His dark eyes narrowing as he saw them running into the woods. Looking further he could make out four other figures heading deeper into the forest just ahead of the running Demigods.

His decision made Percy became visible again and quickly dropped his satchel on the ground and pulled off his constricting school blazer and tie. With him then pulling out his Stygian Iron breast plate from the bag and putting it on, his nimble fingers move quickly, and with practiced ease.

Within moments he was buckling on a pair of Celestial Bronze bracers, even as he stuff his blazer and tie back into the bag, and then pulled on a slightly battered looking brown, leather jacket over the top.

With that done, Percy's body took on a golden glow, even as he then rapidly began to bolt across the open space in front him. His body feeling far lighter than before, as he shot forwards with incredible speed. Another handy facet of his ability, not only could he fly, but he could also massively increase his speed, even if in doing so he lightened his body, and thus any physical attacks he made whilst moving at this speed.

Still he was not the kind of person to complain about a weakness that he had already learned how to overcome. Instead he kept his mind on the matter at hand, as he easily crossed the distance in barely thirty seconds and entered the forest that the other Demigods had disappeared into.

The trees soon blurring past him as he shot through the heavily wooded forest, trying as he did so to dim the golden glow which surrounded his body, even as he cursed his inability to go invisible when using this facet of his power. It was like trading stealth for speed.

Soon after entering the forest though, he came to a stop. His feet landing soundlessly on the branch of a tree, the branch barely moving as he settled on it. Only for the branch to then let out a slight creak and wobble as the golden glow around him faded, and he brought his hand up to his neck. Pulling the miniature Khopesh from the chain around his neck as he did so, the charm soon expanding to form a full sized curved blade made of Celestial Bronze.

With this done, he leapt back down to the ground and continued on, on foot at a steady pace, his sword in his hand and his eyes glowing a faint golden as he looked through the dark forest, his eyes piercing the blanket of night with ease.

Soon enough, he caught up to the rest of the group, all of whom were in a small clearing that led up to a cliff, where the ocean lay hundreds of feet below.

Taking this all in, Percy quickly noticed how the son of Poseidon was trying to get the two children of Hades away from a strange looking man who had, what looked like a scorpion's tail sticking out from below his trench coat. So a monster then!

Gritting his teeth at this, and at the monster's proximity to his targets, Percy's gaze flickered over to the other Demigods. Each of whom had their own respective weaponry in hand as they tried to fight off the man, and the small hoard of monster he seemed to command, off.

The daughter of Athena noticeably wielding a small, yet efficient looking, Celestial Bronze combat dagger. Whilst the child of Poseidon was wielding a long, beautiful looking, leaf shaped sword. The daughter of Zeus meanwhile was using a spear that crackled with lightning, bolts of the stuff dancing and arcing up and down the shaft, whilst in her hands there was a copy of Athena's shield, Aegis.

The girl noticeably using the two in tandem as she used the enchanted nature of the shield to make any who looked upon it cower in fear, before using her lightning enshrouded spear to impale them.

A grin stretched across Percy's face as he saw this, even as he took a step forward, idly twirling his Khopesh in hand as he did so.

He could already feel his blood pumping wildly in his vein as it did anytime he saw combat. On top of which he could also already feel his heart beating like a war drum.

Bending his legs slightly, Percy exploded forward a blur of motion, his form fading in patches as he did so, until it looked like he was seventy percent invisible. This way he was more likely to surprise and confuse his enemies, than if he went in fully invisible, plus it turns out he couldn't turn divine metal invisible like he could himself, or not when it was in its true form. The faint, glow all Celestial metal gave off put paid to that.

Still it was only a slight imposition, and one he could overcome. Plus there was no point in going fully invisible anyway, after all monsters could smell the powerful scent coming off of him and track him by that alone.

Wasting no time at all, Percy charged into the battle, his feet digging slight trenches into the ground as he did so, and a maniacal grin spreading across his face as he closed in on the enemy. It had been far too long since he had last fought hand to hand properly.

Normally he just used his bow, and enhanced eyesight, just for the sheer efficiency, seriously a high powered compound bow and the ability to fly. It almost took the fun out of it knowing that, if you took your enemy by surprise, you could snipe a person down instantly with a headshot from more than two hundred feet away.

Again he used this tactic on his kill quests, just because it was so effective. But still, it did not have the same thrill to it that battling against a foe with a blade did. Maybe because it was not as elegant, or not as challenging as fighting a foe with a blade was.

Soon enough Percy made contact with the enemy, dodging down low as he avoided the powerful swing of a Laistrygonian Giant. With him ducking beneath its' extended arm for a moment, before he shot up and used his curved blade to slash its throat, the Celestial metal cutting through the thick monster hide with ease, ignoring how the monster exploded into golden dust Percy continued moving. His legs pumping as he made for where the man holding the Di Angelo children was.

As he moved, he spun to one side, avoiding an arrow which nearly took him in the leg curtsey of a bow wielding Empousai, only to dash in close and disarm her, literally, with a swing of his blade. Before he dispatched another two more with swift slashes, different parts of his body fading in and out of sight as he moved, even as his blade, bracers and cuirass remained visible.

'Idiot' Percy thought lashing out with his blade as he hamstrung another giant, just before it could smack the struggle son of Poseidon in the back with its' club. The boy in question once again proving that although he had natural talent with a blade, he lacked either the confidence or the experience to truly excel in sword fighting.

Ignoring the startled spawn of the sea for now, Percy instead closed in on the man with the scorpion like tail, the man forcing to dodge to the side in order to avoid several spikes the man sent his way. The man's dark, cruel eyes flicking to and fro as he tried to follow Percy's rapid movements, no doubt using his inhuman eyesight, sense of smell and hearing to do so.

Darting forward, Percy saw how the son of Poseidon was up in front, taking cover behind his gleaming bronze shield, as the spines were being continuously fired by the man.

Heading for the monster, Percy ended up being intercepted by a sword wielding Empousai. The female monster in question screeching as she rushed Percy, her scarlet eyes flashing with menace even as she swung her blade at him.

Scowling at this interruption, Percy lashed out with his Khopesh parrying one of her swings, before he took a step back and parried another. His dark eyes narrowing as blood sucking Empousai lunged at him again, proving herself to be a fair hand with a sword as the two clashed two more times. Only for Percy to then catch her leaf shaped blade in the curve of his Khopesh and twist it aside, leaving the monster open.

Something Percy took advantage of as he became even more visible than before, his hand lunging forwards and clasping her face for a moment. The palm glowing a bright orange for a mere second, before the Empousai screamed, her eyes bursting within their sockets even as her skin rapidly darkened and bloody steam exploded from her mouth and eyes.

Releasing her a moment later, Percy watched dispassionately as the monster crumbled into golden dust. But just for a moment before his free hand lunged out and caught up her sword.

Spinning as he did so, he then thrust the stolen sword forwards and straight through the heart of a Scythian Dracaena that was attempting to sneak up on him. His Khopesh whipping around a moment later to decapitate the female monster a split second later.

Huffing at the inconvenient distraction, Percy turned back to the monster in charge. Lunging forwards as he did so, parts of his body once again going invisible.

His eyes narrowing as he rushed in close, ignoring the son of Poseidon's shout of shock and the monster's snarl of anger. As he instead darted forwards, his blade swinging through the air in a bronze blur, even as it cut through a part of the monster's tail, causing the man to let out a shout of pain, his hands losing their grip on the Di Angelo children's shoulders.

Taking advantage of the situation Percy lashed out with a straightforward Spartan kick, straight into the monster's chest. The blow knocking the off-guard monster back a few steps, and then onto his arse. Not that Percy paid him much attention, as he instead lunged forward and grabbed the two children.

His dark eyes flashing golden as he then dragged them backwards and through the ongoing melee, ignoring the nearby daughter of Athena's shout and the son of Poseidon's shocked exclamation as he instead bodily hurled them ahead of him and towards the nearby treeline.

"Head for the trees, get out of here!" Percy snarled, his Khopesh once again swinging as he cut down three more monsters that attempted to kill him, and then a couple of tail spikes from the monster. His eyes flicking from the children of Hades to the much depleted band of monsters around him, even as he willed them to run into the forest.

Meeting his gaze, the older sister nodded, concern for the welfare of herself and her brother overtaking her confusion and fear as she grabbed her brother's hand tightly and did as Percy bid. Both of them sprinting the last half a dozen feet to the forest, and making for the cover of the nearby trees. Even as Percy continued to cover their retreat, his blade swishing through the air like a golden blur as elegant swordsmanship gave way to brutal butchery.

Unfortunately, before she could get more than a few feet into the forest, Bianca, the girl, was clipped, and knocked to the floor by a falling, half dead Laistrygonian Giant and sent unceremoniously onto the floor, even as her brother continued running, disappearing into the forest as he did so. All his other senses having been overtaken by fear, and instinctual the desire to flee that which scared him.

Seeing this Percy cursed, even as he continued to back away from the head monster, heading for the dazed daughter of Hades. This mission had turned into a real shit show!

Letting out a roar of anger the scorpion tailed monster lunged for Percy, black blood pouring from his wounded tail. Several more spines shooting out as he focused his attention on Percy, even as the Demigod gave ground, backing away in a tactical retreat as he drew ever closer to the now standing, and terrified daughter of Hades.

Locking eyes with the monster in the form of a man, Percy slashed another spine out of the air, redirecting it as he did so, so that it slammed into the goat like leg of another monster. His lip curling up into a snarl, as he then grabbed the same squealing monster by the arm and wrenched it around, using it a monstrous shield as another poisonous spine thudded into its gut. Only for said shield to burst into golden dust moments later.

Turning his head slightly Percy once again looked to where Bianca was, even as the daughter of Zeus let loose a war cry and engaged the scorpion tailed monster.

Ignoring this, Percy instead locked gazes with Bianca, dark eyes locking with glowing golden eyes. Percy's mind racing as he turned and made for the girl, his blade lashing out to cut down one of the three monsters between him and the daughter of Hades.

Only, before he could do so, silver arrows began falling all around him, picking off the surrounding monsters in the blink of an eye.

A loud hunting horn sounded out moments later, directly behind the startled daughter of Hades, announcing as it did so the arrival of the Hunters of Artemis into the field of battle.

"Who are you?!" The main monster growled, his voice, and French accent, catching Percy's attention as he turned and saw the monster glaring at him with its reptilian eyes. Ignoring everything else as it fended the son of Poseidon off with its tail alone.

_"The guy who's going to kill you, pigfucker!"_ Percy replied in barely passable French, his irritation getting the best of him as silver clad Hunter's of Artemis began to appear, returning to full visibility as he did so.

The monster laughed at that, "You are a fool boy, you cannot defeat me, and when you fall I will hunt those brats down again. Which mean that everything you have done here and now, will be for nothing!"

In response to that Percy lunged forward his blade in hand as he did so, the daughter of Hades was a lost cause, especially now the Hunters of Artemis were here. Still, he would get another chance. That said he wouldn't mind having a target to vent his frustrations on.

As he saw his charge, the monster let out another growl, his body slowly beginning to change into its full monstrous form.

Slowly, a furry mane appeared around the man's neck as his arms slowly began to bend more at the elbows. His legs also bent like a dogs, even as fur began to cover his entire body the injured scorpion's tail wafting dangerously behind him as he did so. Within a second the man no longer existed as instead the Manticore stood there.

With a snarl the beast tried to use one of its claws to bat the charging Percy out of the air, only for the dark haired Demigod to twist in the air and take the claw off at the wrist.

Before Percy could do anything else though the creature's injured, yet still fast moving tail struck him in the gut, the blow winding him slightly, despite his cuirass, and sending him flying a few metres back.

"Oh you are so going to pay for that, I am going to shove one of those spines sideways up your arse!" Percy snarled as he picked himself up and made his way over to the creature, his blade held in one hand and the other clenching into a fist, the golden ring on the ring finger of that hand beginning to glow as he pondered whether to make it take its true form.

However, just as he was about to attack the Manticore, the blond hair girl with grey eyes charged the creature first, the son of Poseidon following after his Celestial Bronze blade in his hand as they both attacked the creature as one.

Percy blinked slightly at this unexpected interruption, he had almost forgotten that the other demigods were in the fight. His surprise though ended when he heard the blonde haired girl scream.

Looking up he saw the Manticore let out a blood curdling roar before lashing out with his one good hand, grabbing the blonde haired girl around the waist as he did so, after which he made for the cliff edge they were fighting on, even as the daughter of Zeus charged for it, the son of Poseidon following her lead. However, before they could reach it, the injured creature simply tumbled off the side of the cliff.

Blinking slightly in surprise at what had just happened Percy stood and watched blankly as the pale faced, and terrified looking Theo Jackson ran to the side of the cliff before shouting.

"ANNABETH!"

"Well that just happened…" Percy said blinking once again in surprise.

Letting out a slight sigh of disappointment that the girl had thrown her life away for nothing Percy turned on his heel to go and hopefully recover, Bianca, the daughter of Hades for her father. It was a slim hope, but maybe he could grab her and run before the Hunter's finished off the last of the monsters.

As he turned around however, he found soon found himself facing a number of silver arrows, each of which were drawn back on their strings and aimed right for his heart.

"Well shit." Percy muttered, his gaze taking in the stony faced archers, even as it drifted over them, and towards the silver wolves and other Hunters that were now milling around the clearing; finishing off injured monsters and securing a scared looking satyr and the lone daughter of Hades.

**( - )**

**(With Thalia Grace, ten minutes earlier)**

The fight was not going well, that much was clear to the daughter of Zeus as she used her spear to impale a nearby Cyclops through the heart.

They were outnumbered and separated, with Jackson being an idiot and fighting the Manticore alone and Annabeth fighting her way over to him, back him up.

This in turn had left her and Grover facing off against the much larger enemy force, which was not made easier by the fact that Grover was not the combat type, he was a support fighter and that was being generous. Which of course meant, that not only was she stuck facing a hoard of monster alone she had to do it while protecting Grover.

Using her spear she swung it through the air, the tip of the blade tearing through the throat of a nearby Empousai. She then channelled her Demigod power into the spear, the metal soon crackling with lightning, before with a thrust, she released what she liked to call her chained lightning attack at the enemy.

The bolt of lightning striking the surrounding monsters, incinerating some on contact, before it jumped onto the next enemy, the lightning being attracted by the metal weapons in their hands.

As this was going on Thalia continued channelling lightning into the spear, the lightning bolts jumping around through the monster hoard killing any it came in contact with. Eventually she had to stop when she sensed, more than saw. an arrow headed right for her. Swinging around she used her shield to bat the arrow away before she sent out another bolt of lightning that blasted the head off a nearby Cyclops.

Looking around her Thalia saw that she had probably just felled almost twelve monsters, but yet despite that, still more attacked her.

Frowning the dark haired girl channelled her lightning again, only this time instead of using her spear as a conduit she instead channelled it into her body. The lightning super charging and enhancing not just her body, but her mind and reflexes as well. The lightning supercharging all her synapses and muscles.

As she did this she found she was enveloped in a cloak like shroud of lightning, that not only acted as armour but also as a weapon. This was made obvious when a rather bold Laistrygonian Giant charged her crackling form head on, only to let out a bellow of pain as he fell back, his body twitching and his hand now no more than a charred stump.

Charging up her lightning once more she charged the enemy, her lightning armour protecting her from most attacks, as it either shocked or fried anyone who got too close.

Letting out a shouted she released a wave of electricity that ran over the surrounding monsters, looking like it did not outward damage, which it didn't, as it instead did what it was meant to do, temporarily paralyzing the muscles of the surrounding monsters.

Glaring at her enemy Thalia shot forward, her form almost blurring as she moved, before suddenly she engaged her enemy, her shield and spear working in perfect tandem as she fought.

But even as she did so she knew it was pointless, there were too many of them, even now she could feel herself getting surrounded by the enemy forces. Her lightning shroud decreasing with every monster that it struck, as she struggled to find the space to charge it up again. To Thalia, it seemed that for every monster she slew, two more seemed to appear in their place.

Thankfully however she was soon given a reprieve as some of the monsters around her started to explode into golden dust.

Looking for the culprit, her eyes locked onto the form of a dark haired boy around her age who was wearing a leather jacket. The boy in question fighting only partially visible, and parts most of his body was seemingly invisible, though the black armour and bronze sword he wielded were visible enough.

With the teen in question running through the surrounding monsters with startling ease, his every move careful and without waste as he cut down a monster every few seconds. His blade a blur as more often than not he only needed one hit to kill his opponents, such was his speed and skill.

Fortunately this sudden interference allowed Thalia a chance to both catch her breath and plan out her next move, even as the partially visible teen vanished into the melee of monsters, the other Demigod's presence, for what else could he be? Only noticeable due to the constant explosions of gold dust.

A few minutes, as she once again engaged the enemy in combat, Thalia soon heard a loud horn sound out over the clearing. With the horn sounding familiar, even if she couldn't quite remember why?

A few minutes later though the silver arrows that began to rain down from the sky reminded of her of just why that horn sounded familiar.

"Shit, they had to turn up didn't they?!" Thalia hissed to herself, her expression darkening, even as the few remaining monsters around her exploded into golden dust as the silver arrows took them through the necks and hearts.

**( - )**

**(With Theseus Jackson a few minutes earlier)**

Theseus Jackson was confused, no strike that he was very confused. One minute he had been fighting the Manticore, Dr Thorn, one on one. With him having been forced to take cover behind his shield as Dr Thorn sent a wave after wave of his poisoned spines at him. The next thing he knew though was that the onslaught had mysteriously stopped.

Looking over his shield he saw that Thorn was now distracted by another combatant, it was a partially invisible, dark haired boy who was wearing what looked like a leather jacket and strange black armour. In his hand he was wielding a strange curved blade that looked to be made out of Celestial Bronze.

The most surprising thing was though that he was fighting Thorn and winning, already the tip of Thorn's scorpion tail was lying on the floor, having been cut off by the barely visible dark haired teen.

Looking around Theo's eyes locked on Annabeth who was struggling to make her way over to him. He could see that even now that she was rapidly losing ground to a particularly nasty looking Laistrygonian Giant, her bronze dagger flashing as she delivered a multitude of cuts on the giant, but none of them enough to finish it off. Even now the hulking beast was still moving its' skin riddled in dozens of small cuts, its' black blood dripping onto the ground from the wounds. As he watched he saw the giant swing the massive blade it held in its hand at Annabeth.

Before it could get within a metre of her though Theo already acted, he was not the bravest of Demigods, or even the most assertive. No, Thalia was far braver and stronger willed than he would ever be, just as she was more skilled.

Despite that though, he was still a child of Poseidon, and although he wasn't the boldest hero ever, he couldn't just stand by and let the girl he loved be killed.

With that thought in mind, Theo turned away from Dr Thorn and thrust out his hand, calling upon his Demigod powers as he did so.

Reacting to his will the disturbed snow at the giants feet shot up, the snow hardening into spikes which struck the giant, the tips tearing through its thick hide and impaling it in a number of unpleasant places.

Moments later, and with a loud crash the giant fell on the floor, its body rapidly dissolving into golden dust.

Running over to Annabeth a relieved smile on his sweaty face Theo nervously asked. "Hey Annabeth are you ok?"

"Yeah Theo, I am fine, I do kind of wish I had some of those crazy elemental powers like you and Thalia though." She said in reply as she gave Theo a small smile.

"They are not that cool..." Theo replied, his heart thundering nervously in his chest and his cheek heating up as he saw the smile Annabeth sent him.

Coughing, and pushing down these feelings, the tired Theo instead stuck his hand out and thrust it forwards as he formed a crescent shaped blade of water and sent it at one of the nearby monster. The blade traveling almost faster than the eye could see as it bisected the monster and injured several more behind it.

"Show off." Annabeth muttered, causing Theo to again go bright red and to stutter slightly, despite their surroundings.

Rolling her eyes at her powerful, but perpetually nervous and awkward friend, Annabeth's calculating grey eyes instead locked on the ongoing fight between the odd, partially invisible Demigod and the Manticore, just in time to see the dark haired teen struck by the tail and sent a few metres back. "Come on Theo, we should go help the newbie out before he gets himself killed."

"B-but Annabeth!" Theo shouted, his green eyes widening, even as more sweat trickled down his slightly pudgy face.

**( - )**

**(With Alecto)**

Running through the dark forbidding forest, Nico's pale face stood out in the darkness, even as he continued to flee from whatever the hell was happening behind him.

As he ran however, he didn't notice the shadows behind one of the trees darken, going almost pitch black for a moment, only for a blur figure to lunge out of the shadow moments later.

With a short sharp scream Nico went down, his eyes rolling into the back of his head as he landed on the soft, loamy forest floor beneath him, unconscious.

Standing over the unconscious son of Hades, Alecto, plucked the boy off of the ground with a single, bony, claw like hand, her dark, cruel eyes fixed off in the direction of the battle.

Curling her lip into a snarl, Alecto looked down at the unconscious, yet safe, son of Hades and nodded. Perseus had saved one of the children of Hades, she would acknowledge that much. The boy was safe and in her hands, and would soon enough to be heading down into the Underworld to see his father. The sister, Bianca, however was not accounted for not yet.

Not that Alecto was worried though, after all Perseus Jackson might be an arrogant, self-absorbed scavenger, but he was undeniably competent, deadly and a man of his word. When the unclaimed Demigod said he would do something, he always did it. That much Alecto wouldn't deny, he had at least that going for him, his integrity, one of his few good qualities.

Far off in the distance the horn signifying the Hunter's of Artemis sounded out.

Snarling at the sound of it Alecto shook her head. She couldn't linger here for long, not with the Goddess of the Moon about. Still her Master wouldn't be happy if she just brought her son back, and not his daughter. Hades was a greedy god after all, and he didn't like when his siblings messed with his assets.

Snarling again at the thought of her Master's displeasure, Alecto, and her unconscious Nico sank into the nearby shadows of a large tree. She wouldn't return to the Underworld yet, not until she had managed to talk to Jackson.

This situation could possibly be remedied, just because it had been complicated by the arrival of Artemis and her Hunters didn't mean it was a failure. Or at least she wouldn't be reporting it back to Hades as one unless she had no other choice.

A shiver past through Alecto's body at the thought of her Master's anger, and the realisation that she couldn't just blame it on Jackson either and expect to escape retribution.

No, for now she would wait until she could get Jackson alone. Only after speaking to him, and discussing how to get the girl, Bianca, out of the clutches of the Hunter's would she return back to the Underworld. A slight delay, and inconvenience after all was much more palatable than failure.

With that thought in mind, Alecto vanished into the shadows, calming down as she prepared to wait until she could get Jackson alone, once the slippery son of a bitch had wormed his way out of the Hunter's clutches of course!

**( - )**

**AN: So yeah what do you all think? The seemingly simple mission went array and now Percy is in the clutches of the Hunter's of Artemis, I wonder if that will go well? **

**That said, I want to thank everyone for reading and reviewing, the response the last chapter was great. That said there are a few things I would like to talk about here.**

**For one, one issue brought up was that some people think Percy is an OC with Percy's name. Honestly I can see you point, but I would counter that any Percy Jackson in any story that is not written by Rick Riordan is an OC. **

**That said on a serious note I do see your issues, and honestly I did ponder just giving Percy his canon powers, but honestly that didn't interest me, nor did it fit with my plan for the story. Don't get me wrong I love his canon abilities, and have a half dozen stories in which I explore them, however with this story I want to do something different. **

**Not only does this Percy have a different godly parent, kudos to the one person who guessed who that was form the last chapter alone, honestly your guess took me by surprise as I didn't think anyone would get it with such scant information! I won't say who though, as I want to wait for the reveal for as long as possible.**

**But yeah, this Percy has a different upbringing and a different parent, but, in my mind at least, he has the same soul as canon Percy, he's just AU. After all as you saw in this chapter, there is indeed a character taking on Percy's canon role, only this one is very different to canon Percy despite him having a similar background and parentage.**

**And no I am not going with the trope of him being an arrogant, toe rag. That said he will be monumentally different from canon Percy in his demeanour, and in how his upbringing and parentage has shaped him. Already I tried to get some of that across in this chapter. He won't be a typical antagonistic son of Poseidon like in some, and some will have guessed he will have a connection to Percy. **

**Again that is because different people, react to things in different ways. And this is again where I say same soul, different circumstances. That said part of the fun in this story, is in developing and teasing his character in order to see which canon traits come through despite the difference in his upbringing and parentage, and which develop with time as he meets and greets familiar faces. **

**On another note, I have also decided to scale up Demigod abilities, as Rick Riordan never really developed or went into depth on them. This applies to all Demigods, though there abilities will be balanced. **

**That said to those that are worried, Percy will have a unique and impressive skillset, and won't be overpowered by the children of the Big Three, as I said he is a unique entity, and has a whole new eclectic range of abilities, some of which I have already shown. **

**That said I think that covers the worries and concerns from the reviews. I'm sorry that I didn't get to answer a lot of them, but the little time I do have I put into my stories, though I do try to answer reviews that ask specific questions, where of course those questions wouldn't spoil the plot. **

**That said thanks a lot for reading and for all the reviews, I do read them all and take them into account. If you have any specific question please feel free to PM me, I am better at replying promptly to those! **

**And if you have time please do check out my other stories, I do have a number of Percy Jackson ones! **

**Thanks a lot for reading, see you all next time. **

**Greed720.**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: So a decent response to the last chapter, which in turn prompted me to get this even longer chapter out. Like seriously, I think this is one of my longest chapters yet!**

**Either way the response to the last chapter was mostly good, though of course things are never quite unanimous, then again that's because everyone has different opinions on things and different tastes.**

**Still, I'm still going strong on this, even as I update some of my other stories. Do check them out if you've got a bit of time!**

**Thankfully this story also doesn't have the same issues my other one had, which is to say some very vocal and outraged members of the Naruto fandom, shouting about how my opinions and ideas are not exactly in line with their own.**

**I'm not going to lie, it is a pet peeve of mine. Or rather I have two main ones, harems are one, as I find massive ones obscenely distasteful and boring, and the antithesis of character developments. I also find smaller ones boring, and unnecessary. The most I'll tolerate in my writing nowadays is a three way relationship which I is difficult enough to manage as it is.**

**Another one is people's obsession with power levels. It is something which should be completely unimportant in the grand scheme of things. A story, in my mind, should be about character interactions, complex plots, interesting ideas, fast paced fights, drama, romance, etc. **

**I do admittedly have a load of others, but I won't bore you. Most people tend to have some, and the more and more fanfics you read the more you get, as the cynicism and repetitive boredom of some tropes sink in.**

**But anyway, on a lighter note here is the next chapter, I hope you enjoy it!**

**Thanks for reading, please do leave a review!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson.**

**( - )**

**(Last Time)**

_A shiver past through Alecto's body at the thought of her Master's anger, and the realisation that she couldn't just blame it on Jackson either and expect to escape retribution. _

_No, for now she would wait until she could get Jackson alone. Only after speaking to him, and discussing how to get the girl, Bianca, out of the clutches of the Hunter's would she return back to the Underworld. A slight delay, and inconvenience after all was much more palatable than failure. _

_With that thought in mind, Alecto vanished into the shadows, calming down as she prepared to wait until she could get Jackson alone, once the slippery son of a bitch had wormed his way out of the Hunter's clutches of course!_

**( - )**

**Chapter 3**

**( - )**

**(With Percy)**

Looking around at the sheer number of faintly glowing, silver tipped arrows that were pointed at him, Percy let out a tired sigh.

Today was not just his day.

Shifting slightly, a wave of discomfort flooded through him at the proximity of so many armed, and clearly dangerous opponents, all of whom would be more than willing to kill him.

Narrowing his eyes as he looked over the people threatening him, Percy quickly took note of the fact that they were all girls, teenagers or younger. On top of which they were all dressed up in similar looking silver coloured hunting clothing. Then again maybe that was not surprising considering that they were the Hunters of Artemis, the virginal, man hating goddess, Artemis.

Speaking of which, his once again dark eyes quickly came to rest on the most prominent of his assailants. From a first glance, she looked to be normal child who was around twelve or so years old, and who had pale, alabaster skin, long, waist length, auburn hair and silver glowing eyes.

But for all the innocence of her appearance Percy could recognise her for what she truly was beneath the fleshy shell she wore, she was a goddess, a being of pure unadulterated power, and he could see it in the way she moved and the way she looked at him.

She was beyond human. A being beyond mortal comprehension. A being that merely adopted a human façade in order to disguise just how truly different, and alien she was.

Just being in such close proximity to the goddess, Percy almost cringed. He could sense, and thus feel the boundless, incomprehensible power coming off of her, probably more so than most other mortals.

Thankfully though, he didn't cringe. Then again, that was because he had met Hades face to face, and the effects the Goddess of the Moon and the Hunt had on him paled in comparison to the Lord of the Dead.

The god seemed to naturally give off a miasma which inspired sheer terror and unadulterated fear in any being within his presence, without even trying.

Honestly, it made Percy very glad when he first met Dark God, that for most of the jobs he did for Hades he dealt with the Fury, Alecto, as a go between, a middle-man/woman so to speak. After all, the Fury was like a warm summer's day in comparison to her Master.

Pulling his thoughts away from the Lord of the Dead, who was no doubt pissed off at the dark haired Demigod at the moment over his failure to bring him both his son and his daughter, Percy instead turned his attention back on the juvenile looking goddess, forcing a cheerful smile across his face as he did so.

"Lady Artemis I take it, an absolute pleasure to meet you!" Percy said almost jubilantly as he gave a half bow to the goddess, not so much bothered about the arrows pointed at him as he was about pissing off the famously temperamental goddess.

The last thing he wanted was to be turned into a jackalope, or something equally demeaning.

"Who are you, and why are you here?!" The goddess demanded instantly, her voice ringing out with an authority that came from thousands of years' of experience of commanding those weaker than her. It was a tone that brooked no nonsense, and a demand he do what she said when she said without complaint.

"Me, why I am just a lowly mortal trying to make his way in this big old world of ours." Percy replied, the smile remaining on his face as he once again bowed to the goddess, a slight bit lower this time, just in case she had any ideas of smiting him for his cheek.

Almost at once he could feel her irritation at his answer, as a pressure suddenly settled on his shoulders, one that almost forced him to his knees. With him only being able to remain standing due to his own impressive willpower, as well as through manipulating the internal energy within him, using it to strengthen and reinforce his body, even as he felt like gravity itself was attempting to crush him into the ground like a distinctly inconsequential bug.

Dammit, gods and goddess truly were terrifying!

"A name boy, and a name of your godly parent." Artemis replied her tone not changing despite the pressure her power was now putting on him.

"Percy milady, Percy Jackson son of not got a clue." Percy responded, half tempted to lie to the goddess, before he quickly bite down on that impulse. He was a crafty fucker, but suffice to say lying when put on the spot was not exactly his forte, especially not to a powerful goddess who had spent millennia telling honesty from dishonesty when people tried to lie to her.

From behind him, Percy heard a sharp intake of breath at his last name, even as he saw one or two of the Hunters in front of him blink in surprise, or share odd looks.

"No relation to the other Jackson of course," Percy tagged on as he worked out just why his words might have caused a stir. "We just happen to have the same last name, then again, Jackson, it's just one of those common mortal names that have been around for centuries!

A quiet murmuring from the Hunter's told Percy that they agreed with his comment.

"You are unclaimed." The Goddess of the Hunt suddenly said, not batting an eyes at his previous words, as she instead just stated the obvious, a thoughtful look crossing her childish face as she did so. "What was an unclaimed Demigod such as you doing here; why are you not at the Camp, and how have you survived so long outside of the Camp?"

"Would you believe me if I said that I was just passing through?" Percy asked cheekily, scratching the back of his head with his hand as he did so.

The response he received was the pressure on his shoulders doubling, his knee trembling in response as he fought to remain upright. The Huntresses around him also pulling their bowstrings back even further, the tips of the arrows all aim at either his heart, head or neck, as they all shot him death glares.

"No."

"Very well then, I heard of their being other Demigods over here in Maine so I came over to help them, you know, just in case they were attacked by monsters or something. I mean I have been on the run from monster since I first came across them a couple of years ago now, which was also kind of the time that I first, properly, found out that I was part god..." Percy replied, back tracking as he saw the goddess did not look to be in the mood for jokes, so instead he settled for half-truths.

"So you just happened to come across these Demigods when they were being attacked, and then just happened to decide to help them out of the goodness of your heart." The goddess replied cold, her tone holding both suspicion and disbelief.

Her perceptive, molten silver eyes roving over him as she did so, before they then locked onto the Celestial Bronze Khopesh that was still in his hand, the blade pointed down to the ground as he tried to appear nonthreatening.

"If what you say is true, then how did you come by weapons made of divine metal?" Artemis continued, her gaze trailing over the rest of his kit, taking in his Stygian Iron cuirass, and Celestial Bronze gauntlets, all of which looked very well made, and thus very valuable.

"Oh what these?" Percy said as he looked down at his weapon and armour, his mind racing as he tried to find an answer that would convince the goddess in front of him. "Well… I am not always able to get there on time you know, and it is a dangerous world out there. These weapons of mine, well let's just say I salvaged from other Demigods who have not been as… lucky as me…"

"A scavenger!" One of the Huntresses spat in disgust as she glared at Percy.

Looking over to the Huntress in question, Percy was somewhat taken aback by her breathtakingly beautiful appearance.

With the girl in question having flawless, olive skin that matched her intense, dark, almond shaped eyes, and long, silky, black hair that was currently held back in a ponytail.

To Percy she looked like a princess, she certainly had the beauty, grace and noble bearing of one.

Inspecting the beautiful girl closer, his thoughts were backed up by the thin silver circle she had on her head.

Yep, this girl definitely had the bearing, appearance and grace of one of a princess, or at least his idea of what a princess was.

"Scavenger?" Percy asked in mock horror, even as he fully turned to the Huntress who spoke, his hand coming up and gently moving her drawn arrow away from him, only or her to move it back so it was now aimed at his head. "I am no scavenger; I am just a lowly Demigod trying to make my way in this world. Just because I am willing to take any advantage that I can get does not mean I should be scorned! If I have to re-purpose the weapons of fallen Demigod's to do survive, then that is was I will do. It may not be honourable, but it has allowed me to survive thus far!"

"Thou art still a Scavenger, and no pretty words will not make thee anything else." The girl replied as the dark look didn't leave her face.

Percy instantly noticed her old fashioned way of speaking, and was about to comment on it, or to be more accurate was about to mock it, before he was stopped by the goddess, Artemis, speaking up once again.

"Enough Zoe, he maybe a dishonourable cur, but he is not wrong. People will do anything to survive, and so he should not be judged on his actions." The silver eyed goddess said, gently rebuking her subordinate before her intense eyes once again locked on Percy. "But fortunately for him he will no longer have to scavenge to live, as he will be going to Camp Half Blood with the other Demigods!"

"As you say milady." The now named Zoe said as she slowly lowered her bow, the other Hunters of Artemis doing the same.

"Wait, don't I get a choice in this?!" Percy complained, somewhat relieved at not being under the threat of immense death.

Though he was not too pleased about having his future decided for him. Not that he was actually too bothered by the goddess' suggestion though, after all he had been planning on going to the Camp anyway; he needed to extract Bianca Di Angelo and send her back to her father after all.

He was a man of his word after all, on top of which he was not too keen on finding out what Hades would do to him if he failed.

But even so, he was going to put up a token objection anyway.

It was the principle of the matter.

**( - )**

**(With Artemis)**

"No, you will be going to Camp." Artemis said dismissively, even as she now turned away from the scavenger and instead looked over to the rest of the people in the area.

Her silver eyes taking note of the pale and scared looking Theo Jackson who even now was peering down into the sea, almost as if he were hoping to spot the now missing, and probably dead, blonde daughter of Athena, the one that the Manticore had dragged over the edge with him.

After which she looked over to the nearby Thalia Grace, a stony look having taken over the girl's features as she stood just behind the boy. The daughter of Zeus whispering to the young Son of Poseidon quietly, one hand tightly gripping onto his shoulder. No doubt she was attempting to give him false hope that the Daughter of Athena was still alive.

It was an attempt at kindness, but Artemis had long since come to realise that such false hopes were far more harmful in the long run.

Looking over the rest of the area, the goddess could see multiple piles of dust, most of which were even now dispersing into the air. A number of silver arrows noticeably sticking up from the snowy ground as the remains of the monsters faded from view.

No doubt they were even now beginning to reconstitute and reform themselves in the depths of Tartarus. But unfortunately, such was the way of things.

Looking away at that though, her eyes swept over a nearby, gawping satyr, and instead locked on the form of the slim, dark haired girl, who looked to be in her mid-teens. The girl that was even now being helped up from the ground by one of her Hunters.

Looking closely at the girl, she could see her naturally tanned, skin tone and long, lustrous black hair, which, Artemis noticed, seemed to be styled in such a way that it covered a portion of her face.

This girl must have been one of the Demigods that the Camp had sent the quest to recover. Where her brother was though, Artemis didn't know, her sharp, silver eyes narrowing as she looked around the area, her senses expanding to cover almost four kilometres as she searched for any signs of where the young Demigod could be hiding.

Unfortunately she didn't find a single sign of the boy.

Alas it was a shame, but then again the lives of Demigods were never easy. It was why she was glad that she never had any.

Shaking her head at that morbid though, Artemis instead looked over at her Lieutenant, friend of over two millennia, Zoe, instinctively issuing her orders as he did so. "Hunters set up the camp, have a twenty four hour guard of at least three Hunters while we are here. Zoe, bring the Bianca girl to me when you've finished setting up camp, I have some unfortunate news for her."

"Yes milady!" Zoe said with a bow, before without another word to Artemis she shouldered her silver bow and started issuing her own orders to the other Huntresses. "Diane, Arianne set up the guard, Alicia, Clementine organise the camp, start with Lady Artemis's tent!"

Immediately the Hunters got work, pulling off their packs and setting up their tents and fires.

With some of them having already headed into the woods to hunt for food. Whilst several others set up pickets, a small number of Hunters pulling out their bows as they looked out into the surrounding forest, looking for any hint of a threat. The silver wolves that accompanied the hunt prowling around the perimeter of the impromptu camp, even as their masters went through the, by now, familiar task of setting up their defensible base of operations.

As this was all going on Artemis herself, turned her attention back towards the other Demigods in the clearing, those who were not a part of the Hunt.

As she did so though, her eyes locked onto the mysterious dark haired boy, the other Jackson. The suspicious one that had seemingly come out of nowhere, for reasons that didn't quite add up.

Focusing in on him she could see how his gaze was locked onto her Hunters, or to be more precise, it seemed to be locked onto Zoe as she led Bianca to where the goddess's tent was being quickly and efficiently put up.

Seeing this, Artemis was on the verge of making an issue out of his actions, a thunderous expression slowly beginning to cross her face at the thought of this scavenging mongrel's vile gaze resting on the two virginal girls. However, before she said anything, she paused, taking note of the look in his eyes as she did so.

It was not one of lust or desire like she was expecting to see, instead there was something else in his expression something that even she, the Goddess of the Hunt, couldn't quite identify.

It was an odd expression, like a mix of hunger, curiousity and apprehension, it was oddly ineffable.

Narrowing her eyes even further at this, her curiousity and suspicion rising, Artemis made to approach him.

However, before she could she was distracted when saw Zoe waving to her out of the corner of her eye.

Letting lose a sigh at this, Artemis nodded once, before she walked over to her tent, preparing herself to inform the young Demigod of the likely death of her brother, and to also offer her a chance at a new family in the Hunt.

She would ponder more on Percy Jackson later, for now she had a young, innocent girl to talk to.

**( - ) **

**(With Percy)**

As the Hunt was setting up their camp, Percy kept his eyes locked on Bianca Di Angelo, even as she was guided through the camp by the dark haired huntress who had confronted him before.

Narrowing his eyes as he saw the girl, Zoe, leading Bianca to Artemis's tent, Percy couldn't help but bite his lip. This was getting complicated. If Bianca joined the Hunt it would be much, much harder to extract her from it and send her to Hades.

Percy was under no illusions as he saw the shell shocked looking girl being taken into the tent that she would join. Gods, Percy knew, could be very convincing when they wanted to be, and he doubted that there were very many who denied Artemis's offer when it was given.

Yes, things had just gotten an awful lot more complicated.

Percy cursed at that.

"H-hey, you!" A shaky voice suddenly called out.

With the voice knocking Percy out of his thoughts, causing him to glance sideways, his eyes narrowing as he saw that Theo Jackson, the Son of Poseidon, was approaching him.

Turning around so he could face the flush boy, Percy could feel the anger, anxiety and the barely contained power flowing off of the boy. It was not quite on the level of Percy's own, but it was close, especially when the younger boy was in such an angered state.

Narrowing his eyes as he saw the boy march angrily up to him, his face red and his nostrils flared, Percy waited patiently for the previously nervous and awkward boy to speak. With Percy's arms shifting to his side as the boy continued to approach, hanging limply beside him even as he toyed with the golden ring on his hand, and gripped his Khopesh tighter.

He didn't think the boy would attack him, after all what reason did he have to? But still, he would be ready if he did.

Upon reaching Percy, Theo pulled out what looked like a ball point pen from his pocket. Which is something which would normally be unexceptional, except for that fact this pen turned into a three foot long sword moments later.

After which the dark haired boy continued his approach, sweat beading down his face, and his teeth worrying his lips, even as he swung the Celestial Bronze blade in his hand up to Percy's throat. His scared and angry green eyes locking with Percy's own as he did so.

In response to the boy's actions, Percy had to grit his teeth to stop himself from naturally reacting to the threat on his person. His own blade flicking up for a moment, only to freeze as he stopped himself from just disembowelling the boy, and instead decided to take a more peaceful approach.

He, at least, was still conscious of the dozens of trained, aggressive, man hating Huntresses behind him, even if the other boy wasn't. Huntresses that Percy suspected would be more than happy to stick them both full of arrow if a fight suddenly began in the middle of their camp.

"This is your fault! If you had not interfered in the Quest then Annabeth would still be here!" The boy shouted in Percy's face, his green eyes flashing with a mixture of anger and pain. His obvious again, and the upset he was feeling over the girl's death, apparently overriding his naturally nervous and awkward demeanour.

"I think you need to calm down before you do something you might regret." Percy said with forced calm, aware as he did so that the eyes of several of the Hunters were now on them.

"Calm down! Fuck calming down! Annabeth is gone and it is all your fault!" The boy shouted his blade now digging into Percy's skin as he began to lose his composure.

As he felt the blood trickle down his neck, Percy lost his cool. Taking a step back slightly, Percy then thrust his hand out and grabbed the handle of Theo's sword faster than the boy could react, after which he clenched his hand into a fist.

Almost immediately his actions caused a slight cracking sound to come from Theo's hand as Percy crushed it against the hilt of his own sword. Twisting his hand as he did so and removing he blade from his neck, Percy then used both the surprise of his actions, and his own strength to force the boy to drop the sword before he then delivered a knee to his stomach.

The force of the knocking the breath out of the Son of Poseidon's lungs momentarily as was forced to hunch over because of the blow. Deciding to finish him off, Percy's right hand whipped up, his Khopesh still in hand, even as he slammed the pommel of the weapon into the side of the boy's head as hard as he could, instantly knocking him out as he did so.

Taking another step back, Percy received barely any warning as he felt, rather than saw, an attack approaching him.

He was lucky that he did though, as a glance downwards revealed the blade of a spear dug in the ground just where he had been standing.

Looking up Percy was forced to dodge again as the spear was pulled out of the ground and then swung at his feet.

Leaping up he managed to jump over the spear, before landing back on the floor his sword already rising as he blocked another blow.

This time though he twisted his sword, using the curve of the blade to lock the spear in place, his actions creating a brief pause in the assault. Whilst also allowing Percy to look up and finally get the measure of his assailant. Only for him to find himself face to face with the Daughter of Zeus, Thalia, the dark haired girl's blue eyes blazing with anger as they locked onto his own.

"Tell me, is there a reason why you are attacking me?" Percy asked in a voice of forced calm, his arm shaking slightly as he felt Thalia trying to withdraw her spear.

"Is there a reason you attacked Theo?!" The girl replied in an angry tone.

"Well yes, there is, I believe it is called self-defence. Tell me, have you ever heard of it?" Percy asked, getting angry himself now.

"It was unnecessary." Thalia replied, though fortunately she looked like she was calming down slightly as she spoke. "Yes he shouldn't have come at you like that, but he was angry and not thinking straight, you shouldn't have beaten him down like that!"

"Look, I can understand that he was upset, but I was not exactly happy having a blade shoved against my neck!" The dark haired Demigod retorted, his left hand coming up and gesturing to the trickle of drying blood that was still present on his neck.

Looking at where he was indicating, Thalia's eyes widened slightly as she saw the blood.

After which, after letting loose a sigh, she then channelled lightning through her spear, an act that caused Percy to jolt as the lightning sparked off of the spear, several of the sparks hitting him.

Taking advantage of his reaction Thalia then pulled her spear back, but instead of going in for another attack she instead took a step back and leaned it on her shoulder.

"Look, I am sorry about what my friend did, he's a wet blanket most of the time, but he can also be a bit of a hot head at times too, mainly when he's really angry, or in this case, upset." Thalia said, her eyes on Percy as he carefully stood up straight, the blade in his hand held loosely at his side once again. "Why don't we try again, my name is Thalia Grace the Daughter of Zeus, what's yours?"

"Percy Jackson, it's nice to meet you I suppose." Percy said carefully as he saw Thalia stretching out her hand for a handshake, a frown ghosting across his face at the name, Grace, it felt oddly familiar. "No relation to your friend of course." Percy then tagged on when he saw Thalia's eyes widen a fraction.

Thalia nodded at that, her eyes still locked on him, even as he reached out for her hand warily, cautiously shaking hands with Thalia as he did so.

For all of about five seconds, before he felt another jolt of lightning running through him, this one more powerful than the last as Thalia channelled lightning through her hand, and then into Percy.

"Was that really necessary." Percy complained as he pulled back his hand from the girl, shaking it slightly in an attempt to get rid of the numbness, even as he sent her an unamused look.

"Not really, but think of it as pay back for Theo." She replied in amusement, even as she looked over her shoulder at her groaning friend, who even now was getting back to his feet after his small beat down.

"Fine, whatever." Percy grunted, looking away from Thalia now, and instead at some of the surrounding Huntresses, some of whom were darkly fingering weapons as they kept their eyes on the Demigods, Percy and Theo, more so than Thalia, and the as yet still silent and nervous looking satyr.

Thankfully though none of them had decided to jump in, and even now they were losing interest, especially since Percy and Thalia's confrontation had become somewhat more peaceful.

"So tell me then Percy, why were you here at Westover?" Thalia suddenly asked after a few moments of silence, even as she took a better look at the other teen, her blue eyes gleaming slightly as she eyed him up and down.

Percy let out a shrug as he heard that. A slight smile spreading across his face as then began to tell her the same things he told Artemis, embellishing it slightly as he tried to make it sound more legitimate.

While this was going on the Hunters had finished up setting up camp, and had already begun to start a number of fires around the camp. Something Percy and the others appreciated as they soon found themselves sitting around the one of the fires, the one that was closest to Lady Artemis's tent.

In fact they had only just sat down around the fire, the satyr and Theo Jackson quietly talking to one another on one side of the fire, whilst Percy and Thalia talked on the other side, when the Huntress, Zoe, approached them.

"You." She said pointing at the still unhappy looking Theo as she did so. The boy in question looking quite startled, as he looked up nervously and then sent an uncertain glance at Thalia. "Lady Artemis wishes to see you in her tent, you will come!" She continued not making it a request as she commanded the silent and still upset boy to follow her.

Percy glanced over at Thalia while this was happening, noticing as he did so that she was glaring at Zoe, distaste clear in her blue eyes. A distaste that that Zoe seemed to share, as she sent Thalia the same look the moment their eyes met.

Apparently the two of them have some kind of history. From what he knew of the Hunters, he guessed that Thalia was probably one of those few to reject Artemis's offer. It would certainly explain the animosity.

Without another word, or even a glance at him, Zoe turned on her heels and headed off towards Artemis's tent, the largest tent in the camp, Theo Jackson following slowly behind her.

**( - )**

Watching as the Son of Poseidon entered the Moon goddesses tent, Percy soon found his attention drawn back to his companion who was sat by the fire. The girl in question was currently poking moodily at the crackling fire with a stick, muttering uncomplimentary things under her breath as she did so.

"So I take it you are not a fan of the Hunters then?" Percy finally asked after having spent a few minutes watching her poke about, and grumble irritably about the Hunters, and Zoe in particular.

"Really, I am surprised you noticed…" The girl replied sarcastically as she looked up from the fire and met Percy's gaze.

"Let me rephrase it the question then, why do you hate the Hunters of Artemis that much? I mean yeah they are kind of annoying, and often turn up where they're not welcome, but even so they are not that bad in the grand scheme of things?" Percy replied, he had never really interacted with them before himself, in fact he purposefully avoided them. But he had lost a few monster extermination jobs to the group which admittedly had been quite annoying.

"You wouldn't understand." Was Thalia's response, before she turned away and looked back towards the merrily crackling fire. "They are just so up themselves and arrogant, I met them a few years ago back when Luke, Annabeth and I were on the run. This was before we came to Camp Half Blood."

Percy nodded his head as he listened, surprised that she was actually telling him as honestly the girl seemed like she was about to dismiss his question before.

As she spoke about her old friends though, he quickly noticed that she seemed to light up. He had of course heard about Luke Castellan, he was working for the rapidly growing Titan's faction from Percy had heard, and the girl Annabeth was almost certainly the same one that had just, an hour before, taken a tumble over the cliff.

"Anyway it was while we were traveling around, avoiding monsters as much as possible that we came across them. We had been corned by a pack of Hellhounds, they were big nasty brutes, and we were all tired, untrained and poorly armed." Thalia clenched her fist at this, her mouth tightening slightly as if she was thinking of something difficult.

Percy nodded at that, he could sympathise. When he had first started out he had gotten himself in a lot of trouble, and he had been alone. In fact it had only been thanks to his natural talent with his Demigodly abilities that he had survived.

"I thought we were done for, I was just stood there in front of my friend a broken pipe the only weapon I had to use against them." Thalia continued, not even looking at Percy now, though notably the satyr on the other side of the fire shifted uncomfortably at her story. "But then I heard the sound of a horn, and saw these silver arrows falling from the sky. We were saved, the Hunters charged in knives, swords and spears in hand, cutting through the Hellhounds with ease, and in that moment I was so happy, happy that we had been saved, happy that maybe, just maybe, we were not as alone as I first thought!"

Here Thalia paused, her gaze still locked on the flames, the soft golden light reflecting in her sky blue eyes.

"So what happened then?" Percy prompted as he shifted closer to Thalia, genuinely interested in hearing the rest of her story. He sometimes forgot that all Demigods tended to start out the same. They were all initially lost, weak, confused and isolated. All of them abandoned by their Divine parents, and left to the mercies of the monsters that roamed the land as they desperately tried to survive.

"They did what they always do when they come across young girls in need, they offered Annabeth and I a position in the Hunt." Thalia continued, now looking back up at Percy.

"Well what's wrong with that, I am guessing by the fact that you're not wearing silver that you rejected their offer? Did that piss them off or something?" Percy asked, leaning forwards now, his gaze still fixed on the pensive Daughter of Zeus.

Thalia let out a hollow chuckle at that, "We were actually about to accept their offer, Annabeth and I, but before we did I asked what would happen to Luke, after all he was like family to me, to us, and I didn't want to lose him. Do you know what the answer I received was?"

Percy shook his head.

"They said who cares… they weren't even going to bother taking him to safety, they claimed they were in the middle of a hunt and had only stopped because two maidens were in danger." Thalia said bitterly now glaring at the Hunter's camp around them. "They were more than prepared to take us away and leave Luke to just die! Well I couldn't accept that and so I rejected their offer, with Annabeth who had been with us for just a few weeks by that point, following my lead."

"I am guessing they did not appreciate your refusal, especially since it involved a boy." Percy guessed as he looked over at Thalia sympathetically. It sounded like she had a rough time of it when she started out. Maybe worse than Percy, as although he had often felt isolated and alone, he only had to worry about himself. Thalia though, Thalia it seemed had two other dependents relying on her.

"Appreciate it, they hated it, that Zoe she just sneered and started judging me for my choice! After that they quickly packed up and were gone within the hour, leaving us all alone again, I doubt they even bothered looking back at us after they left!" Thalia spoke, real anger in her voice now as she spoke of how her and her group had been left to fend for themselves by the Hunt, and just because she rejected their offer to join them.

"Damn that's cold." Percy said at a loss for what else he could say. As in his mind the Hunters had abandoned them, and although they might not have been comrades, it was still a shitty thing to do.

Call Percy what you want; cold, callous, and morally bankrupt. But there were two things he believed in; the first was that his word was his bond, once he said he would do something, or made a promise, he would keep it no matter next. The other thing was that he would never betray those he called friends, not that he had many of those that is. But still, the very few he had managed to acquire, he would never think of betraying, or turning his back on them!

"Yeah you're telling me." Thalia replied with a slight smile at Percy's understatement. "So what's your story then?"

"My story?"

"Well yeah, I am guessing you came from somewhere? I mean, how have you survived out here outside of the Camp for as long as you have? I mean don't get me wrong, you seem to be pretty tough, or at least that is what Grover said…" Thalia replied before she raised her head and looked for the Satyr, only for her eyes to quickly lock onto Grover as he anxiously hung around outside of Artemis's tent.

It seemed he had left during her story, though whether he was waiting for Theo or for Artemis she truly had no idea.

"How have I survived?" Percy muttered to himself, not bothering to look for the Satyr as he had already taken a note of where he was. "Well I guess you could say I got lucky. When I first started out I did run into a couple of monsters, but they were already attacking a group of Demigods. Either way I saw what was going on, and recognised that there were others like me, and so went to help."

Percy paused here, his brow furrowing as he looked into the fire.

"They all died. I never even got their names, or their stories." He then continued after a few minutes, looking up at Thalia now and shrugging. "I survived though, and I managed to salvage some of their weapons, enough to defend myself."

"Sounds rough." Thalia muttered softly. How old were you at the time?"

"Around eleven or so," Percy continued with a shrug, he was over it. As he said before, he never even knew who any of those Demigods were. That said though, he had still learned something from their deaths. Demigods, they lived short and bloody lives. Living for them was a constant battle, you against the world!

"I picked things up pretty fast though. Turns out I am a natural fighter; spears, swords, axes, bows, I picked them all up pretty quickly. I mean don't get me wrong, I was initially pretty clumsy, but the more I fought, the more I practiced, the more experience I got, the better I got." Percy shrugged here, a smile on his face as he remembered his early days.

He never had any official training, everything that he knew he had taught himself. Monsters, other Demigods, mortals, those were his trainers, he would fight anyone who attacked him or got in his way, and with every victory he became that little bit better, that little bit more dangerous.

"Really? I would never have guessed!" Thalia once again interrupted a strange smile on her face as she looked at Percy. "Demigods at Camp Half Blood train pretty much every day both in combat and in their powers, but even so you could probably beat down most of them with ease!"

A slight grin spread across Thalia's face as she said that, something Percy copied as he looked over at her.

"Yeah, well I suppose you should know. Sometimes you are forced into a situation that forces you to go beyond what you thought yourself capable of. A situation that forces you to grow up quickly, as you lose any naivety you might have had. Experience of the outside world, and the monsters that lurk out there, just waiting to rip you apart, it toughens you up, it makes you harder, faster and crueller!"

Percy's expression became darker as he finished speaking. Even now when he closed his eyes he could still picture the monsters he had fought, the scenes of carnage and death he had witnessed, humanities unending capability for cruelty.

He remembered every monster he had ever killed, and ever Demigod he had ever cut down, either in cold blood, or in a fair fight. He might feel no guilt for his actions, after all life was a never ending battle for survival, and this world was a dog eat dog one, where only the strong survived.

But even so, he remembered their faces. Maybe it was his way of honouring their memories, or maybe, like with the trophies he took from them, it was his way remembering his victories. He honestly didn't know, all he did know, was that he could remember the face of every monster, mortal and Demigod he had ever killed.

"Life is hard, but it can't let it break you." Thalia said softly, shifting closer to the dark haired Demigod as she did so. "Just look at Theo…"

Thalia then paused, her pale hand coming up to ruffle her short, spiky, black hair, even as she suddenly started biting her lip.

It looked as if she were having an internal debate.

"The Son of Poseidon? The nervous kid?" Percy prompted, his eyes flicking back over to Artemis's tent as he did so, before going back to Thalia.

"Yeah, well, let's just say Theo had a pretty rough childhood too." Thalia nodded, her tone slow, almost as if she were choosing her words carefully. "I won't go into detail, as that's his story to tell. But he's had it rough, he had a pretty nasty and abusive stepfather, and it affected him in a big way. It's why he's always so nervous and unsure, it's also why I think he might be crushed under the responsibility everyone seems to want to put on his shoulders."

Percy frowned at that. "It sounds like you care for him?"

"Well I do in a way, I owe him after all. I mean, believe it or not but I used to be a tree until last summer." Thalia replied, her tone turning dry at the end. "Theo, this girl Clarisse and Annabeth all helped me out."

"You were a tree?" Percy asked slowly, his eyebrow raising, even as a bemused smile played across his face.

"Shut it you." Thalia returned, though her lip did twitch upwards, almost as if she were fighting off a smile. "But yeah, he's a good guy is Theo, he just lacks confidence in himself, and is too quick to give up when the going gets tough. He's not really a leader, despite everyone expecting him to be. In fact I don't think he even wants to be a Demigod, not after what it did to his life, and to his mother…"

Thalia stopped talking at this point, her eyes flicking over to Percy, even as her mouth snapped shut.

By the sounds of it she had just let slip something that she shouldn't have.

"Don't worry, I won't pry." Percy said softly after a couple of moments, before he sighed. "I guess we're all a little fucked up aren't we? The life we live, it forces you to grow up quickly. I suppose you could say, that before we found out what we were, we were just children, we acted like children, and were treated like children. But then we were forced to grow up fast, and so I had to put away childish things..."

"Welcome to life as a Demigod." Thalia tagged on, even as she lightly punched Percy on the shoulder, a slight smile once again on her face. "It's not exactly fun!"

"I don't know, even despite the danger, I don't think I would give up being a Demigod. A normal, mundane life, it just sounds so boring..." Percy replied with amusement, even as he looked over at Thalia.

Before anything else could be said between the two of them, they both were distracted when they saw movement over by Artemis's tent. The tent flap opening, even as the young looking goddess exited, followed as she did so by Zoe, Percy and Bianca.

Seeing this Percy focused on the Daughter of Hades. Only for him to see, on closer inspection, that Bianca's eyes were red from crying. No doubt because she had been told her brother was missing presumed dead, other than that though she was wearing a silver Hunter's outfit, with a thick silver coloured parka over the top.

So she had joined the Hunt after all.

Watching as the group left the tent, he also noticed how she was sticking quite close to Zoe. She was still probably quite fragile, and thus had started looking to the elder Huntress for support.

Percy's smile faded as he took all this in. He didn't like the idea of Bianca being part of the Hunt, nor was he all that keen on how the goddess had taken advantage of the girl's emotionally vulnerable state when she recruited her. Mainly though he was just irritated that the girl's joining the Hunt, was going to make his job of kidnapping, and then delivering her to her father, that much harder. After all Hades would almost certainly be an absolute dick to him to if he failed to deliver the girl!

"Looks like Bianca joined them, just like the Hunters to prey on a naive girl like that, the vultures." Thalia commented from where she was beside Percy, the two having stood and approached the group as they exited Artemis's tent. "I can't believe she abandoned her brother!"

As she said that a sudden thought came to the girl as she looked around for the younger Di Angelo, with her having forgotten about him in all the confusion. "Actually where is the brat?

"Missing presumed dead." Zoe said bluntly as she approached, a hostile look on her face as she locked eyes with Thalia. Notably, as Zoe said those words, Bianca, seemed to let out a slight whimper, which in turn caused Zoe to look over to her, give a concerned look on her face as she then put a comforting arm around her. "Though there is a good chance that he is still alive and was in fact just taken like the Daughter of Athena. No signs of a struggle, or remains were found, so that is also a likely probability."

"I thought the girl was dead?" Percy spoke up in confusion.

"Her name was Annabeth," ~Theo Jackson snapped back, his nervous demeanour fading as he sent a glare at Percy, before moments later he let out a tired sigh. "Lady Artemis believes she is in fact still alive, and so I am going to ask Chiron for a Quest when we get back so we can find her."

"That's great!" Thalia said with a relieved smile, with her having been quite worried about Annabeth herself, but also cautiously optimistic that she was still alive as well. "I'll come along and help out!"

Theo perked up at that, a grateful look on his face at Thalia's offer of support.

"I am sure you will find her." Percy said as he reached out and gave Thalia's shoulder a squeeze, getting a slight smile from the girl as he did so.

"Thanks Percy." She muttered before she gave him a light punch on the shoulder. The act causing him to let out a chuckle.

"Hey err... Percy was it?" Theo Jackson said awkwardly as he looked over at the dark haired Demigod. "I just wanted to say… sorry… you know about before… I was angry and out of line."

"Nah it is fine man, I understand what it is like to lose people, and have quite a temper myself when I get upset." Percy replied uncomfortably. "Err… sorry about your hand, I hope it is better…"

Looking at his once broken hand the green eyed boy let out an awkward chuckle as he flexed it. "Don't worry about it, it is already healed. One of the bonuses about being a child of Poseidon, all it needs is a bit of water and we can regenerate pretty much anything. How's your neck, I know I cut it with Anaklumous?"

As he said that, Percy, noticed Zoe flinch slightly out of the corner of his eye, with the movement being so small that he was pretty sure that no one except him and Artemis had noticed. Putting it to the back of his mind for now though, he instead looked over to the still awkward looking boy. Inwardly smiling as he saw how he was trying to extend the hand of friendship after their less than stellar introduction.

"Don't worry about it." Percy replied as he wiped the dry blood off of his neck, the wound having already clotted up. "No harm done."

"Aww that's cute, you guys are becoming friends." Thalia cooed as she slung an arm round Percy's shoulder, looking at him inquisitively as she did so. "So you know what, I just realised that I never asked who your godly parent is?"

Percy shrugged at that. "No idea, I've never properly met either of my parents."

Thalia's grin faltered at that.

"Ahh don't worry about it. Parents, who needs them eh?" Percy said nudging Thalia as he did so.

"I hear that!" Thalia nodded, a smile on her face.

As for Theo, he just looked uncomfortable.

"Enough chattering, my idiot brother will soon be here to give you all a lift to Camp Half Blood." Artemis cut in, quelling any conversation as she spoke loudly so all those present could hear her, ignoring the groans coming from her Hunters as she said it.

"Do we have to milady, would it not be more preferable for us to accompany thou on thine Hunt?" Zoe asked as she turned to Lady Artemis, a slightly pleading look in her eyes.

"No my old friend, for this Hunt I will have to go alone, it is not safe for you to tread the path I will have to take." Artemis replied softly, raising a hand to Zoe's cheek as she spoke. When it looked like Zoe was going to speak again she cut her off. "I have made my decision Zoe, after all these millennia would you really go against it now?"

"No milady." Zoe said grudgingly.

"Good, now start packing up Camp and preparing yourselves, my brother will be coming with the dawn!" Artemis continued speaking, looking out at her Hunter's, some of whom were in the midst of preparing a light supper.

Despite this though, they all nodded their heads and got to work. A chorus of 'Yes Lady Artemis', ringing out from the dozens of young looking, partially immortal girls as they did so.

**( - )**

Moments later there was a sudden flurry of activity as the Hunters got to work, whilst Artemis turned and walked away, Zoe and Bianca in toe, and Thalia, Theo and Grover all started speaking, Thalia and the satyr no doubt interrogating the Son of Poseidon on what had gone down in Artemis's tent.

Noticing all of this, Percy took this as the opportunity he needed to slip out of the camp, using both his invisibility and the surrounding darkness as he did so. His own eyes easily cutting through the gloomy forest, even as he headed several metres in.

"You did got get the girl!" Alecto's familiar, harsh voice sounded out a few moments later, her sharp, cruel, flinty eyes becoming visible, peeking out from a nearby shadow that was notably darker than the rest.

"Hey now, I got you the boy didn't I? I mean gods how many kids does Hades want?" Percy shot back, not at all surprised by the monster's theatrics, even as he attempted to use humour to rectify the situation.

He had failed, and he knew it.

"Lord Hades wants both of his children, and you will bring him both of his children." Alecto responded angrily.

"I will, I will I did make a promise after all, and if there is one thing Percy Jackson never breaks it is his word!" Percy shot back, looking closely at the shadow Alecto was hiding within. Unlike all the others, this was one that Percy could not see through.

"You had better; Lord Hades does not accept failure."

"I know," Percy replied tiredly, rubbing his eyes, even as he looked around him, once again ensuring that he wasn't be watched. "But I didn't expect the Hunters of Artemis to suddenly arrive. Their being here made getting her out of there impossible!"

"Find a way." Alecto said. "Lord Hades wants both of his children!"

"Yeah I know, and he will get them. But it looks like I may end up having to go to Camp Half Blood if I want to extract her." Percy said, a frown on his face as he did so, before he suddenly brightened up when an idea came to mind. "Hmm, if you want the girl, I am going to need my bow back, preferably with the enchantment on it, and I am going to need a favour!"

"Your bow, like the other weapon you requested, will be given to you once you have returned the last of Lord Hades' children, not before! As for the favour, well it will depend on what it is?"

As he heard this Percy frowned deeply, he did not like that, he did not like how Hades was holding his weapon hostage. But at the same time he knew that there was absolutely no chance on him changing the Lord of the Dead's mind about it. That still didn't stop him from being pissed though. "It would be a lot easier if I had my main weapon!"

"You will get it back with the enchantments you requested, but only when you have come through with your side of the deal!" Alecto said uncompromisingly, a slight sneer on her face as she looked down at him. "Now what is this favour, scavenger?"

"If I am going to Camp Half Blood I am going to need someone to pretend to be my godly parent, and that god would need to have a connection to the Underworld." Percy replied thinking as he did so that it really would be important, how else could he explain why he has so many enchanted items, or how he had been able to survive outside of the Camp for so long without notice.

He had already spun a couple of tales, some of which were based on truths. At the same time though, Chiron was a lot cannier than Thalia, and would be a lot more interested in the details than Artemis, who merely got the broad strokes and shrugged him off as an inconsequential boy/ scavenger.

More importantly though, he would need to have an explanation for how he is able to use Stygian Iron, as only those Demigods who had a connection to the Underworld were able to use the metal. Which might, thinking about it, mean that one of the Underworld gods could be Percy's father?

"I will tell Lord Hades of your request, and if he agrees you will know when you get to Camp." Alecto said her gaze locked coldly on Percy, her contempt for him clear to see, even as the two cruel orbs rapidly faded from sight.

"Then you should also tell him that if he doesn't grant my request then the likelihood of him getting his daughter back is not good!" Percy called after her, not that the Fury showed any indication that she had heard him.

"Bitch." Percy muttered to himself moments later, even as he turned invisible and headed back to camp.

Not that he was all too concerned about being spotted, after all he had a perfect excuse as to why he had left for a couple of minutes. He had gone for a piss! Grinning at that thought, he could just imagine those stuck up Hunter's response to that crass explanation.

**( - )**

**(Sometime later)**

The first those gathered knew of the God of the Sun's arrival, was the loud roaring sound that exploded through the air. Even, as the night seemed to quickly turn into day.

Turning around all of those present, save for Artemis and surprisingly Percy, were forced to look the other way, shielding their eyes as they did so from the blinding light of Apollo's sun-chariot.

With those in the clearing all quickly becoming aware of the presence of another god as the air suddenly became a lot thicker and heavier as the power a god natural exuded became present.

Plus, with their being two gods here at the same time, the background feeling that they had become used to while in Artemis's presence seemed to double, with sweat starting to trickle down some of the watcher's faces.

"Oh this day just gets worse and worse..." Zoe grumbled as she looked back over at the newcomer, only to be greeted by a red-hot Maserati Spyder with heat waves literally rolling off of it sitting some ten metres away from the Hunter's camp. The car notably melting all the snow in a ten foot radius into nothing more than water.

Rolling her eyes at this, Zoe, was conspicuously the only one that was completely unaffected by the presence of both Apollo and Artemis. She had long since become used to being in the presence of gods over her many millennia of service.

The other newer, and younger, Demigods like Bianca though looked to be really suffering in their presence. With a sigh, Zoe noted how the girl had to now lean upon another Hunter, Phoebe, to remain standing.

Looking over at the Camp Demigods she could see them all standing strong, though she could see beads of sweat running down their heads. Still, she wasn't too surprised by this considering how two of them were the children of the Big Three. Though the fact that the mysterious Percy Jackson was able to stand so calmly in the presence of two divines was a little surprising.

Taking her eyes off of those three she instead looked over at the Sun Chariot, or more importantly at the man who was just exiting it.

Apollo stepped out of his sun chariot and flashed a huge grin at his sister and the Hunters as he did so, the man was tall, with a slim build and tanned skin, his eyes were a twinkling sky blue colour, and his hair was the colour of molten gold. "Hello ladies, I hear you need a ride?" He asked as he, even as approached the group, a skip in his step and a twinkle in his eye. The Maserati driver was notably wearing jeans and loafers and a sleeveless T-shirt, items most unfitting of a divine being.

"Shut up Apollo. You know the rules; do not flirt, talk, or even look at my Hunters. You are to bring them to Camp Half Blood along with these other Demigods." Artemis said all hints of amusement leaving her face as she looked at her twin brother, her silver eyes gleaming dangerously in the dawn light.

Apollo rolled his eyes as he heard his sisters threats, long used to hearing such from his far more sensible twin, "Relax sis, I was only kidding."

"Wow," Thalia muttered from where she was standing next to Percy. "Apollo is hot."

"He's the sun god?" Theo commented as he and Grover walked over to stand beside the Percy and Thalia.

"Also isn't he technically your brother?" Percy asked in amusement, flashing Thalia a smile as a sickly look crossed her face.

"Did you have to ruin it like that? Don't you know the rules, we don't discuss our weird, incestuous, godly family tree!" Thalia muttered even as she jabbed a set of lightning covered fingers into Percy's side giving him a little jolt as she did so.

"Little sister!" Apollo called out again. A big smile on his face as he approached, the air getting heavier and heavier as his power settled upon the area. "What's up? You never call. You never write. I was getting worried!"

Artemis sighed, rubbing her head with her hand as she did so. "I'm fine, Apollo. And I am not your little sister."

"Hey, I was born first."

"We're twins! How many millennia do we have to argue…"

"So what's up?" he interrupted. "Got the girls with you, I see. You all need some tips on archery?"

Artemis grit her teeth at that, even as Zoe absentmindedly gripped her bow a little bit tighter. "I need a favour. I have some hunting to do, alone. I need you to take my companions to Camp Half Blood."

"Sure thing, sis!" Apollo replied, before he raised his hands in a stop everything gesture. "I feel a haiku coming on."

The Hunters all groaned as they heard this, one or two of them putting their hands over their ears. They'd met Apollo before.

Ignoring them, the God of the Sun cleared his throat and held up one hand dramatically.

"Green grass breaks through snow.

Artemis pleads for my help.

I am so cool."

With that done, he grinned at the groups surrounding him, the god clearly waiting for applause that was never going to come.

"That last line was only four syllables," Artemis said, a small smirk coming to her face as she saw Apollo send her a petulant scowl.

"Was it?" Apollo muttered, frowning as he looked to be deep in thought.

"Yes. 'What about I am so moronic'?" Artemis continued, her lips curling upwards in a wicked smirk.

"No, no, that's six syllables. Hmm." He started muttering to himself as he tried to think of a different line. The rest of the people assembled all looking at each other awkwardly while this was happening.

Zoe took this moment to turn to the other Demigods so that she could try and explain the god's odd behaviour. "Lord Apollo has been going through this haiku phase ever since he visited Japan. Tis not as bad as the time he visited Limerick. If I'd had to hear one more poem that started with, 'There once was a goddess from Sparta…'"

"Hey I have one for you, how about; 'Percy is cool'?" Percy decided to speak up, his actions getting him many unamused looks from both Demigods and Hunters alike.

"I take it you're Percy?" Apollo asked in amusement, turning away from his sister as he instead turned and looked at Percy, his eyes looking him up and down as he did so. "There is something odd about you, you're not one of mine are you?"

"Shouldn't you know that?" Percy asked blandly, his answer getting a slight twitch of the lips from both Zoe and Artemis as he put Apollo on the spot.

"Probably," Apollo replied obliviously as he continued to give Percy an assessing look, before he shrugged. "Nah sorry kid you're not lucky enough to have me as a father, mine all tend to have blond hair and blue eyes. That said, I can usually tell whose parent a kid is with a glance…, but you I have to say, are a tricky one."

Percy shrugged at that before casually replying, "Maybe I will find out at Camp Half Blood…"

"Yeah maybe..." Apollo continued still looking at Percy curiously.

"Speaking of which brother you should get going." Artemis interrupted, her eyes looking off into the distance before she looked back at Apollo. "The hour is getting late."

Apollo looked surprised at that before an understanding look crossed his face, nodding grimly he turned to the rest of the group and said. "Come on you lot let's all get on board and let Arty go off frolicking into the woods."

Artemis's eye twitched at that but she made no other the comments. The Hunters however did and more than one of them 'accidentally' stamped on his foot as they were getting into the Chariot of the Sun, which with a click of his fingers Apollo had turned into a large bus.

**( - )**

**(With Percy)**

As the Hunters all filed onto the bus, all of them looking distastefully at Apollo as they did so. Thalia, Theo and Grover followed the Hunters in, even as Percy brought up the rear, grabbing a seat beside Thalia as he did so.

Looking back he could see that the rest of the Hunters had all gotten in too, though unlike him and the others, they had gone to the back, segregating themselves from the other Demigods.

Narrowing his eyes at this, Percy made sure to keep an eye on Bianca as this was happening just in case he was able to spirit her away before they went to Camp. Unfortunately no such opportunity arrived, not that he thought it would, what with both Apollo and Artemis being present.

Apollo soon made his own way onto the bus after receiving a quick lecture from Artemis and smiled back at everyone on board.

"Today you're all in for a special treat. Thalia how would you like to have a go steering the sun?" Apollo asked with a big smile as he looked at a rapidly paling Thalia.

_'Well this is going to go well...' _Percy thought to himself as she saw Thalia slowly stand up, her already pale skin practically chalk white as she approached the driver's seat, her hands already beginning to shake.

**( - )**

**AN: So what did you all think? Admittedly there was a lot of talking and interaction in this, and not as much action, but still it was important to set the stage for what is to come. **

**Either way I have the next couple of chapters full planned out and partially written, so hope there won't be that much of a wait for the next chapter. **

**Other than that, thanks for reading, and reviewing. The support so far has been pretty great. Hope you continue to read and enjoy.**

**Will see you later, thanks for reading.**

**Greed720.**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: So hey everyone here is the next chapter, the support is still great, and the speculation is still ongoing, I haven't revealed the truth yet as I want it to be a surprise, though I will admit there have been some accurate guesses. **

**Other than that thanks a lot for all of the reviews, they are really appreciated, and I am glad you all seem to enjoy my story, I hope I don't disappoint with this next chapter.**

**Thanks a lot for reading, please do leave a comment or review at the end!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson obviously.**

**( - )**

**(Last Time)**

Apollo soon made his own way onto the bus after receiving a quick lecture from Artemis and smiled back at everyone on board.

"Today you're all in for a special treat. Thalia how would you like to have a go steering the sun?" Apollo asked with a big smile as he looked at a rapidly paling Thalia.

_'Well this is going to go well...' _Percy thought to himself as she saw Thalia slowly stand up, her already pale skin practically chalk white as she approached the driver's seat, her hands already beginning to shake.

**( - )**

**Chapter 4**

**( - )**

**(Camp Half Blood)**

It had been a peaceful evening thus far for the residents of Camp Half Blood. As the few remaining, full time residents of the Camp, those demigods who unfortunately had nowhere else to go, either because they had no choice or because their worry for their families led to them staying away for their safety, puttered about doing their own thing.

Yes, these thirty or so demigods that were still in the Camp had been having a peaceful, tranquil day. Either by relaxing with their friends in the eternally pleasant weather the camp was blessed with, wallowing away the days until summer. Or by training their respective skills whilst they had the time and space to do so.

The peace that had previously permeated the camp was soon brought to a crashing halt, literally, as with a large explosion of fire what looked like a school bus exploded from the sky in a ball of fire.

With a loud splashing sound and an explosion of steam the fiery vehicle crashed into Camp Half Blood's lake, terrifying more than a few Naiads who called the lake home.

In response to the sudden intrusion, the reaction from the Camp was swift, something that was not surprising considering the type of Camp, Camp Half blood was. The remaining campers were swift in their reply, as those that had them, drew their Celestial Bronze weapons and steadily approached the intrusion, already preparing to fight or retreat depending on the threat.

Those that didn't have a weapon retreated back, or didn't have any offensive capability, not wanting to get in the way of those that did in case a fight did break out. With those that could fight heading for their cabins to grab their weapons, whilst those that couldn't already started preparing to support the warriors.

Their caution though was, in this case, unnecessary as because when the steam from the fiery objects impact into the lake dispersed, it revealed a standard looking school bus, but more importantly it revealed a number of familiar faces getting off of the bus.

These faces included Thalia, Grover and Theo, all of whom were well known and, for the most part, well-liked by the Campers.

A number of smiles and laughs came from the Campers as they saw the now drenched Grover and Thalia making their way to the lake shore, with a bone dry, yet pale faced, Theo easily appearing beside them. The laughs were partly due to the hilarity of their appearance, but also somewhat due to the relief of them coming back alive from their mission, even from the minor one that they had gone on.

Following behind the familiar figures were a number of others, only some of the present Campers recognised them, and those that did, their laughter was less than friendly as they saw the drenched Hunters coming ashore.

Noticeably, with the Hunter's was another boy, someone the Campers were unfamiliar with. But then again they had heard how Thalia and the others had been sent out to contact some powerful, suspected demigods, which led many to the conclusion that the dark haired boy was simply one of the demigods they had gone to Maine to collect.

Galloping up to the edge of the lake, Chiron the centaur, the Camp Director and the legendary trainer of heroes soon made himself known.

The centaur had a regular human looking upper body that was covered by a red sweat-shirt which was covered with a white hoof-print design. His face was also currently sporting a curly, somewhat messy and ragged beard that covered the vast majority of his neck like some sort of scarf. His lower half though, his lower half was that of a white stallion, which was not surprising considering he was a centaur.

At the appearance of the centaur, the watching demigods all quickly moved out of his way as he trotted forwards and approached the new arrivals.

"Welcome to Camp Half Blood." Chiron said, a relieved smile on his face as he came to a stop at the edge of the lake and looked at the arrivals, his kindly eyes flickering to the God of the Sun, Apollo, as he also made it ashore, the blonde god looking completely at ease with his Sun Chariot's, currently in the form of a bus, condition as it wallowed in the Camp's lake.

The reason for his nonchalance soon became obvious, as with a click of the god's fingers the Chariot dispersed into golden light, getting a number of ooohs and ahhhs from the watching Campers.

Chiron however didn't pay attention to Apollo's little display, instead the trainer of heroes smile dimmed as he realised that one of the number was missing.

Annabeth, the daughter of Athena was missing. A highly capable and skilled girl, one who had been at Camp Half Blood since she was seven year olds, and was a veteran of two other quests, was not here. To Chiron her absence meant only one thing.

"Theseus, Thalia, Grover I think we will need to talk in the Big House." Chiron said, calmly gesturing as he did so to the large house in the middle of the Camp. Seeing them nod, he then turned to the Hunters, a forced smile appearing on his face. "Once again welcome to Camp Half Blood, Hunters of Artemis. I take it you remember where Lady Artemis's cabin is?"

Zoe Nightshade nodded her head at that, gesturing for her fellow Hunters to follow her as she made her way away from the lake, heading towards a number of flamboyant looking cabins in the distance.

With each one the twelve cabins representing one of the Olympians and housing said god's demigod children, with the children of the minor god's all being put up in the Hermes Cabin.

Without a word to any of the Campers the group of Hunter's made their way through the surrounding onlookers, a couple of them making sure to barge those that got to close out of their way.

Clearly there was some bad blood between the demigods of Camp Half Blood and the Hunters of Artemis.

As the Hunters left the scene, this left only Percy and Apollo standing by the lake, the attention of most of the remaining Campers present, and those that had just returned, their weapons in hand, resting on them.

Chiron as composed as always opened his mouth, preparing to address Apollo, only for him to be cut off by the very same god.

"Don't worry about it Chiron, I will probably head off soon. Will drop in on my kids first though; maybe even give them a few pointers before heading off! The sun's not going to pull itself after all!" Apollo cut in with a short laugh and a large grin, sending a wink towards some nearby blonde haired, blue eyed children, all of whom were watch him with looks of surprise and excitement.

Ignoring as he did so the fact that the sun was more that capable of moving itself, it had after all done so before he existed and would continue to do so long after he had faded.

Walking away from Chiron, Apollo beckoned towards his kids motioning them to follow him. After which, as he walked off, he could be audibly heard giving his kids a few pointers in archery, making more than a few references to 'showing the Hunters of Artemis how it's done' as he did so.

Seeing the focus of their attention disappearing, the other Campers also soon started to move off as well, some of them heading off to continue what they had been doing previously.

Whilst others, who like Chiron had noticed the absence of Annabeth, went back to their Cabins, no doubt to mourn the loss of one of their comrades.

Some however remained, maybe a dozen or so, all of whom were all looking at Percy in interest, with Thalia, Grover and Theo also hanging on, both waiting on Chiron, and keeping an eye on the ever mysterious Percy.

This in turn also left Percy standing alone in front of Chiron, the other demigods now standing behind Chiron. With most of them giving him a mixture of judging looks and looks of curiosity. Not that their curiosity bothered him, he'd been retreated far worse than that upon first meetings.

Thinking on it, the Amazons had been far worse when he had first toddled into their headquarters. Even now over a year later he could remember the gleefully violent reaction from a pair of twin, Amazon sisters, both of whom had attempted to kill him upon their first meeting.

Raising his hand in greeting Percy said the first thing that came to mind.

"Sup."

Chiron blinked at his reaction to the whole situation, before shrugging it off with practiced ease. "Hello young one. I am Chiron the trainer of Heroes and the Director of Camp Half Blood."

"Yeah I had already guessed." Percy replied with a shrug.

Chiron blinked, once again taken aback by Percy's casual response.

Thalia, rolling her eyes took it upon herself to help Chiron out. "His name is Percy, Percy Jackson, no relation to Theo, and he already knows about the gods and demigods."

Around Percy the surrounding Campers started muttering at the name Jackson, some of them sending speculative looks at the surprised Theo, and then back at Percy, as if they were trying to compare their appearances.

A few moments later though most of them seemed to come to the conclusion that, like Thalia, had said, they were not related. Sure they had similar hair, and skin tones, but their facial features were slight different, as too were their builds, and most importantly their eyes; Theo had watery green eyes, whilst Percy's were almost black and had a hardness to them.

Chiron, however continued to give Percy a speculative look, before eventually he nodded. "Well then, welcome to Camp Half Blood..." The centaur began, before he was caught off guard by a sudden pale light that surrounded the dark haired newcomer, a holographic symbol of a spectral chalice appearing above him at the same time as the light appeared.

Seeing the symbol a look of genuine surprise crossed Chiron's face. With the other Campers all starting to mutter among themselves as they saw it, all of them wondering which god or goddess the unknown symbol represented.

Luckily Chiron knew, though the last time he had seen it was over six hundred years ago. Still, despite his surprise he gave a slight bow to Percy, an action that the watching campers all followed. After which Chiron's voice rang out into the silence. "Hail Percy Jackson, son of Melinoe the Goddess of Ghosts!"

Percy blinked in surprise at that, before with a shrug he started grinning. "So that is my godly parent I suppose…"

"Indeed," Chiron agreed as he stood up straight again, ignoring the continued mumbling of the surrounding Demigods, some of whom looked disappointed, whilst others just confused, as if they had no idea who the minor goddess in question was. "And after a quick discussion with myself in the Big House you will be more than welcome to settle in at Camp Half Blood."

"Ok sounds awesome. I take it one of those cabins up there are mine?" Percy asked with a grin. Not that he really needed to ask, he was already well aware of what the answer would be.

"Well," Chiron mildly, even if outwardly he couldn't help but begin to look somewhat uncomfortable. "The cabins each represent one of the Olympian gods. As the son of a minor goddess you will be staying in the Hermes cabin, with the other Hermes Campers, the Unclaimed Campers and the other children of the minor gods."

"Oh, well that seems fair." Percy commented sarcastically. Taking note as he did of the uncomfortable looks Chiron and a couple of the watching Campers now had. It appeared the rumours he had heard were correct. There were indeed tensions over the lack of respect the children of the minor gods got, and the animosity some of the unclaimed held. "Well no matter, I am sure the Hermes cabin will suffice."

Chiron looked slightly relieved at that, though he hid it well. "Very well then, as I said before after a small discussion in the Big House with myself and those who rescued you, you will be more than welcome to settle in."

"Alright then, please lead the way." Percy said as he walked away from the lake, following Chiron as he led Theo, Grover, Thalia and himself to the large, prominent blue house that was sitting in the middle of the Camp

**( - )**

**(A few minutes later)**

Settling into a comfy armchair in the Big House, Percy sent an expectant look towards Chiron as he too entered the room moments later. The centaur now in a wheel chair after having somehow fitted his horse half into the chair. No doubt this was due to some supernatural trickery, probably something to do with the Mist.

Also noticeably in the room were Thalia, Percy and Grover. All three of whom looked somewhat dejected as they waited for Chiron to enter.

Upon the wheelchair bound man entering, the three of them soon found themselves being prompted into giving an account of what had happened on the quest. Starting with Thalia, Annabeth and Theo getting picked up by Theo's as of yet unnamed mother and ending with Percy and the Hunters of Artemis intervening and Annabeth being dragged off the edge of the cliff by the Manticore.

Sitting back as he processed all he had just been told, Chiron's gaze moved onto Percy. The dark haired teen in question taking note of the mixture of wisdom and sadness in the old centaur's eyes as he calmly fixed his gaze upon him.

"It seems I have to thank you Mr Jackson." Chiron began, getting a surprised look from Percy as he did so. "Were it not for yours and the Hunters intervention I could have been mourning the loss of four instead of just one."

"We could have handled ourselves." Thalia muttered from where she was sat on a sofa beside the upset looking Theo and Grover.

"No, no you couldn't." Chiron said sadly, his gaze moving to Thalia, making the Daughter of Zeus, the nominal leader of Camp Half Blood, cringe slightly as she saw the slight disappointment in the old centaur's eyes. "You all charged in without a plan, against superior numbers. Not even taking the time to access the situation, this led to you getting surrounded and almost overwhelmed by monsters."

Theo, the one who had been the one to get himself caught, looked down at that. Even as Thalia gritted her teeth. Not in anger though, no instead in disappointment, disappointment with herself for not having a proper handle on leading the group.

Seeing their reaction Chiron spoke up again, his gaze no longer disappointed, instead it was just sad. "But the loss of Annabeth was not your fault. She was a brave girl, and put her life on the line for her comrades. Her loss is no one's fault, and to say otherwise would be to disrespect her memory."

"But she might not be dead." Theo interrupted nervously, his lip noticeably quivering. "W-we didn't see a body; t-they could be keeping her alive!"

"They could, but at the moment we just don't know." Chiron replied as he moved his gaze onto Theo.

"We could issue a quest, or send out a search party to find her!" Thalia cut in, shifting up in her seat, as if she were on the verge of standing.

"We could, but without a prophecy from the Oracle such a venture would be destined to fail. If not even Lady Artemis could pick up a trail, what hope do you have?" Chiron asked gently, shooting down Thalia's idea. Though not because he didn't want to find Annabeth if she was still alive, but because with things as they were, what with Kronos attempting to rise, such an attempt without a Prophecy would be foolish.

Theo seemed to crumple in on himself at those words, whilst Thalia looked ready to speak up again. However before she could she was interrupted by a slight jab to her ribs courtesy of an uneasy looking Grover. The red haired satyr shaking his head, his face solemn, even as he motioned to Chiron with his dark eyes, making Thalia follow his gaze as she did so.

Upon doing so, and upon seeing the centaur's face, which now looked like it had been carved out of stone, looking down sternly at her, Thalia quickly stopped speaking and instead just nodded. Though noticeably, to at least some in the room, a hint of stubbornness remained in her electric blue eyes.

"Good." Chiron said after a few moments, after which he turned his attention back to Percy. "So from what I have heard, Percy, I may call you that can I?"

Percy nodded.

"From what I have heard you have so far been living outside of the Camp for the last few years." Percy nodded at that. "I have to admit the mere fact that you could survive that long on your own certainly speaks to your strength and ability." Chiron then continued, giving Percy an appraising look as he did so. "If I could ask, how exactly did you survive that long?"

It was a question Percy had expected and one that he had already prepared an answer for. "It's quite simple really. I just kept moving, never staying in one place long enough for the monsters to gather. Scavenged a few useful Celestial weapons and armour on my way." Percy replied easily, an earnest expression on his face.

"I see, well I can't blame you for taking the initiative." Chiron said giving the 'Son of Melinoe' a nod. "As I said before, you are more than welcome to stay at Camp Half Blood for as long as you want. Whilst here you can receive training and gain a sense of safety from our protections!"

"Thanks I guess." Percy said, his smile waving slightly as he felt a sudden wave of uncomfortableness at the kindness and trust the centaur was showing him.

"If I am honest I doubt I will be here long." Percy then decided to add on. As he did so he saw Thalia sitting straighter, a look of surprise on her face, as she looked on the brink of speaking up. Before they could though he forged on ahead. "I am an adventurer by nature, I like to travel. I don't think I would be happy if I remained in one place for too long."

Chiron merely smiled in response to that statement. "You're free spirited, I have met others like you, and just like them you will be welcome at Camp Half Blood when you need it. It is the least I can do to repay you for looking after some of my Campers!"

Percy smiled at that. "Thanks Chiron."

The centaur only smiled at him. It was a sad smile though, melancholy in a way, a smile of someone who had lived too long and seen too much.

**( - )**

**(Sometime later)**

Leaving the Big House a half an hour later, Percy quickly found himself being confronted by Thalia, the dark haired girl giving him an accessing look as she stood in front of him, blocking his path. "So you're an Underworld kid..."

Percy shrugged at that not sure what else to say. "Yeah, so it appears…"

"So you didn't know?" She asked an eyebrow rising as she looked at him. "I have to say for the son of the Goddess of Ghosts you looked surprisingly tanned... and you know, not ghostly…?"

"You say that like that's a bad thing?" Percy commented dryly, a slight smile on his face as he nodded at her, and then started walking again, Thalia noticeably following along next to him.

"Eh." Thalia shrugged before giving him a sideways look. "So that invisibility thing you can do, is that something to do with your mother then?"

"Maybe." Percy shrugged, a slight smile tugging at his lips as he heard what Thalia said. "I have been able to do it since I was nine; I always used to think it was a superpower or something, like one of the characters from those old X-men cartoons. Ha, I guess it was my godly power manifesting!"

"Is that the time you went on the run?" She asked.

"No, it was a few years later than that." Percy responded with a shrug. "But it was the beginning of the end for my life of peace, soon after that I started seeing the monsters, and then started running away. It was only a couple of years later, when I began to manifest more powers and drew the attention of more monsters, that I finally decided to run away properly." Percy continued with a shrug, his gaze flicking over to meet Thalia's as he did so.

"Yeah that tends to happen. The more powerful a demigod becomes the strong their scent, and a demigod's power tend to manifest themselves in certain traits, abilities and gifts that they gain. The stronger you are the more monsters pursue you, one of the reasons you're probably still alive is because your mum is only a minor goddess, if she were one of the stronger ones you probably would've been fucked!" Thalia commented bluntly, not meaning any offense with her words.

Percy cocked an eyebrow at that, before he shrugged. "Maybe, but I was no slouch though, I was able to hold my own even when I first started out. That said though, I was a lot more immature back then, a bit more naive too. I mean when I first set off I still kind of thought I was a superhero..."

Thalia laughed at that. "You know I can kind of see it."

Percy shot her a questioning look at that.

"A younger clueless version of yourself." Thalia commented. "I bet you were such a loser!"

"Ha! Looking back at it, I guess I was." Percy replied as he began to make his way to the cabins, Thalia following him. It was as he did so that he saw more than a few of the campers looking down. It looked like news of Annabeth, going missing, presumed dead, had gotten out. "So that Annabeth girl, were you two close?"

That comment wiped the smile of Thalia's face as she frowned instead. "Yeah, well we used to be. I knew her for a while when she was a lot younger. But then I... well I kind of died and was turned into a tree."

Percy had to hold back an amused smile at that, he had heard her mention being turned into a tree before.

"Shut it, you! But yeah, anyway, I eventually was brought back a couple of months ago as you know, only to learn that the seven year old girl I had known was now a teenager, and that in fact I didn't know much about her any more. It made things a bit weird, but even so I still cared for her, even if my memories of her were of a scared child." Thalia said, a confused look on her face as she thought back to the massive gap in time she had missed and how, even now months later, she had not quite accepted it.

"Shit happens; sometimes the only thing we can do is get up and carry on." Percy said with a shrug as they made it to the cabins. A smile appearing on his face as he saw how odd they looked, with each one looking like it was designed to represent a different god.

"So true." Thalia said with a slight smile, before she noticed that they had made it to the cabins. "Alright, so that one over there is mine." She continued pointing as she did so at a large marble cabin, one that looked more like a temple than a cabin. With the symbol of Zeus, a lightning bolt, proudly and prominently displayed on the front.

Turning around she pointed to a smaller wooden one. "And that one is yours, the Hermes cabin."

Percy blinked as he saw that, before he looked back and forth between Zeus's massive opulent cabin that housed one person and Hermes's small wooden cabin that housed all his multiple children, as well as the dozens that were unclaimed or were the children of minor gods.

"Well that seems fair." Percy said with wry amusement.

"That's the gods for you, they are all dicks." Thalia commented with an expression that looked halfway between amusement and pity.

Thunder boomed overhead as Thalia spoke those words not that that seemed to bother her, as she instead gave the sky a mocking smirk. "Well it's true."

"Well it looks like you like to live dangerously." Percy commented as he saw this, a grin on his face as he saw Thalia openly mocking her father.

"This coming from you? The guy who has spent years travelling and adventuring around constantly on the run from monsters?" Thalia asked as she smirked at Percy, though notably, he could hear what sounded like a hint of jealousy in her tone.

Smiling and letting out a slight laugh, Percy just shrugged. "Well what can I say, I like to live dangerously too, it keeps things exciting."

"How about we test that then, a spar, you verses me, tomorrow morning in the arena?!" Thalia replied challengingly. "I will even pass out the word and get an audience together to witness your defeat."

"You don't stand a chance." Percy replied already getting fired up. The mercenary life, though exciting and profitable, did sometimes get lonely. Plus Percy would never back down from a fight, it was not in his nature. Percy Jackson never backed down from a fight, you could be a demigod, a monster, or even a god, and he would not back down, not if he had even the slightest chance of victory.

"We'll see." Thalia replied with a cocky grin that soon melted in a genuine one. "I'll see you tomorrow Percy, I have to say, I am glad I met you."

"Same thing here, I definitely made the right choice when I decided to jump in to save your pretty arse." Percy replied with a grin to Thalia.

"Oh so you think my ass is pretty?" She replied, a mocking smile on her face as she saw Percy's cheeks pink slightly.

"Meh! It's alright." Percy replied lamely, his still pink cheeks showing that she had won that round.

"Sure I believe you!" Thalia called over her shoulder as she began to walk away, putting an extra sway to her hips as she did so. Something that Percy's eyes took note of as he watched her walking away. "Goodnight Percy!"

"Yeah, goodnight..." Percy replied absently, still entranced by her rather shapely bottom. Soon enough however he was brought out of his trance when he felt a hand land on his shoulder.

Turning to look at the culprit he noticed that it was the boy Theo Jackson.

"Look Percy, I just wanted to say again, that I am sorry, I was just upset. I didn't mean to attack you like that." Theo said a slightly guilty expression on his pudgy face.

It took Percy a couple of seconds to work out what he was talking about. When he did, he just gave Percy a shrug. "Look man, like I too said before, don't worry about it! Tension were running high, and you were clearly upset, so honestly let's just drop it, there was no real harm done!"

"Cool, I... well I just wanted to say sorry we got off on the wrong foot." Theo replied awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head as he did so.

"As I said, don't worry about it." Percy replied waving him off as he made his way towards the Hermes cabin.

"Ok mate, good night." Theo said with a nod before he hurried off to a grey stone cabin that looked like it was made up of rock from the sea floor, its dull grey stone being notably peppered with sea shells.

Turning around and heading back to the cabin, however before he could, Percy quickly found himself being distracted by a slight glimmer of silver light which seemed to be coming from the nearby forest.

Looking around and seeing no one else in his vicinity, Percy shrugged before going to investigate. Pulling his Celestial Bronze Khopesh out as he did so, the curved blade fitting comfortably in his hand as he headed into the forest, heading in the direction of the entrancing light.

**( - )**

Walking into the forest his blade held at the ready, Percy made sure to keep his wits about him.

Keeping low to the ground as he moved, he prepared to leap into action at any moment, whether that meant charging an assailant or retreating.

As he moved through the darks trees the familiar feeling of the divine energy pulsing through his body, available for him to use at any moment, comforted him, even as he brought that energy to the surface, his black eyes burning gold as he suddenly found himself able to see through the forest like it was the middle of the day.

This was especially useful as forest was still dark as he walked through it, the dawn having not quite reached the Camp, which was ironic considering the god of the sun had been here just an hour ago.

Shaking that amusing thought off, Percy instead focused on the matter at hand. This forest, he had to admit to himself, gave off an eerie feeling, a feeling of danger, almost like he was being watched by monsters. This feeling was made worse by the near absolute silence that surrounded him, with the only sound being made, being Percy's own feet as he walked. With him occasionally making a slight rustle in the undergrowth.

Even so, despite his doubts he forged on. The faint glimmer of silvery light he had been following was still present, only now it was closer, still not quite visible through the increasingly dense forest, but much brighter all the same.

Approaching it Percy made his unarmoured body completely invisible, even as he weaved through the tall trees, his blade held low so that the light did not reflect off the metal and thus give away his position.

Leaving the trees a few moments later the dark haired teen soon found himself in a clearing, empty of all but a floating orb of silvery, almost misty light.

Cautiously approaching the light, Percy was not entirely surprised when he felt a slight shift in the air, before with a swirl the misty light twisted around, forming what looked like a pillar of silver mist.

With the pillar of silvery mist soon dispersing, even as he watched, to reveal a person.

At the sight of this newcomer, Percy nearly reared back in shock.

The person was a woman, no doubt a goddess.

Her appearance though was not what he had come to expect of divine beings. When deciding on her form this goddess had not picked a form of beauty like most gods and goddesses.

No, instead she seemed to have chosen a form of fear and terror.

Now normally the goddess in front of him could have been described as a great beauty, but the goddess had twisted that beauty into a thing of nightmares. The left side of the goddess's face was black and hardened almost like a mummies and her right side was pale and chalky as if she were drained of all her blood. And to add to her striking appearance, she was wearing a golden dress and a golden shawl, which in turn made her eyes, which were like empty black voids, stand out all the more.

For Percy he found he was more unnerved by standing in front of this goddess than he was when he first met the God of the Dead, Hades, who had given off an aura of tremendous, and all but unrivalled power, which when added to the natural miasma of dark terror he gave off, made him a very intimidating being to stand before.

This woman though, she did not seemed to give off any presence at all, despite her being a god, a being of power than transcended the strength of all mortals.

Not that that made Percy any more comfortable, instead it was that lack of presence that kept him on edge, as to him it was like he was looking at her, but not actually seeing her. His heightened and trained senses, honed through years of fighting and killing, did not pick anything about her up. No sound, no scent, no taste of her power, nothing. It was like looking at a ghost...

Percy stopped at that, a thoughtful look now on his face, before a slight smile began to play across it. "Lady Melinoe I presume, or should I just call you mum?"

A smile appeared on the goddess's face at that, her features twisting into an expression that was half way between a haughty smirk and a mocking sneer. "Oh very good, you are a smart one aren't you?"

"Observant more than anything." Percy replied with a casual shrug, his grip on the blade at his side not loosening, despite her not reacting negatively to his previous attempts at banter. "So if I may ask, what is with the impromptu visit?"

"Can a doting mother not drop in on her son occasionally?" Melinoe asked mockingly, floating towards Percy as she did so, her dress not making a sound, even as it brushed along the leafy ground.

"I have to say I am surprised, I never figured you Underworld god's to be the parental type..." Percy relied blandly.

"Is that not true for all gods, whether we reside in the Underworld or on Olympus?" Melinoe replied in amusement. "Though it may surprise you to know that I have had demigod children before, not many of course, only three. The last of which alas died over six centuries ago." Melinoe continued not a hint of sadness on her face as she casually spoke about the death of her children.

"Though I am not really your child though, am I?" Percy replied idly.

"No, or at least not yet." Melinoe responded, a coy smile on her face as she moved towards Percy, an ice cold hand cupping his face as she looked at him in curiosity. "You are indeed a mystery, normally a child's godly parent would be obvious, but with you..." She muttered to herself as she studied Percy's face closely.

Percy filed away her muttered comment for later, adding it as yet another piece of the mystery for just who is mysterious godly parent actually was, and why they had never bothered to show themselves, claim him, or even give him a sign that they knew he existed.

"So, is that you offering to adopt me?" Percy asked dryly, even as he remained still, trying to ignore the numbness slowly but surely spreading across his face from where the goddess's hand rested.

"Hmm, and why not. After all the only real family a person has is those that they choose for themselves. Their biological ones more often than not... disappoint them." Melinoe commented cynically, no doubt thinking on her own parents, Hades and Persephone. With Hades being a controlling and uncaring, and Persephone not having a maternal bone in her body, unless of course you were a plant.

"Wouldn't exactly know, after all I've never had any family before." Percy replied with a shrug, not really bothered about admitting that. "Though I am curious about just why you want to adopt me?"

"Why do any gods have demigod children, the planned ones that is? It is because you represent that god, your achievements add to that god's prestige and position, plus you demigods do make exceptional tools for us gods. It's those pesky ancient laws you know, they stop us from fully interacting with the mortal world. But you my little half-breed, like others of your kind, are exempt." Melinoe replied, not sugar coating her response, no doubt because she knew Percy wouldn't believe her if she did, or maybe because she just did not care enough to bother lying.

"This whole adoption deal sounds like it would benefit you a lot more than it would me." Percy commented idly, his mercenary attitude rising as he looked for what he would get out of this odd offer.

"You know, you really could be a child of the Underworld. You certainly have the temperament for one. You, unlike many of your kin, at least know about way the world works, and more than that, you're happy to play the game. I think you would make a good son." Melinoe replied, that callous, sinister smirk back on her face as she looked at Percy with approval.

"You didn't answer the question." Percy said bluntly, not allowing the goddess to twist or manipulate him. He didn't trust this goddess as far as he could throw her, then again he didn't trust any of the gods. Those beings were too alien, too ancient, too unnatural for him to understand or emphasise with, and if he couldn't understand their motives or what they were after fully, a part from their natural selfishness, then he wasn't about to trust them!

"Hmm." The goddess hummed as she looked at Percy. "The benefits for you... well there would be the abilities you would receive as my official child, they would only add to your existing abilities and power!"

"And those abilities would be?" Percy asked in genuine interest, having just assumed the goddess's adoption of him would be in name only. He had been angling for a blessing from Hades so he could use some of those cool Underworld powers, what the god's daughter was offering might be the next best thing.

"Oh you're interested now." Melinoe said with a sly smirk. "Well there would be the standard abilities of an Underworld child such as the ability to wield Stygian Iron, though from what I have heard that is a bit unnecessary for you. Which I'll admit, does make me a little curious. On a more personal level though, there would be the ability to summon and bind ghosts and spirits to your will, your control over ghosts and spirits would be greater than even a child of Hades. Then finally there would be the ability to enter the spirit world and take on a ghostly form."

Melinoe finished with a smirk, her lips curling upwards to reveal a set of black teeth as she saw the undisguised interest and greed on Percy's face.

"But I am sure a mercenary and an assassin like you would have no interest in an ability like that..." She trailed off, her smirk widening even further.

"Those are some... useful abilities, there would have to be more to your offer than just getting prestige from my accomplishments though." Percy said suspiciously, his eyes narrowing as he locked eyes with the goddess.

"Can't a mother spoil her son?" Melinoe asked, before a wicked grin crept across her face as she saw Percy's stoic look. "Oh so suspicious... very well then yes there is slightly more to what I want. I am a minor goddess, and as you might have realised, when compared to the more powerful ones, the Olympians and major gods, we are... somewhat looked down on. As you might have also guessed, we don't appreciate that!"

An expression of unbridled, inhuman fury flashed across Melinoe's face as she said this. Though only for a split second. In fact it was there and gone so fast that Percy had only been able to catch it due to him having been watching her so closely at the time.

Not that Percy mentioned the momentary loss of composure, as he instead nodded just nodded at her words.

He was more than aware of how being looked down on felt. He had after all been alienated, looked down and isolated all his life. This meant he could sympathise with the goddess somewhat, though that sympathy was very much overshadowed by his suspicion and mistrust, a feeling he felt about almost everyone he met, ever since he had run away from his orphanage.

Taking his silence as agreement, Melinoe continued, her terrifying face twisting into a rictus of cold fury. A look that would give even grown men nightmares. "Well what I want is for you to more than just represent me and do a bit of dirty work on the side for me. I want you to make it so a minor goddess like me is no longer looked down on! How you do it is up to you, but I want you to make it so the minor gods are respected like we ought to be!"

Percy blinked at that, that request was not what he was expecting. "Wow that sounds almost selfless of you?"

The goddess laughed coldly at that, sending a shiver down his spin. "I suppose in a way it is, though don't forget, it will benefit me in the long run! You will find, son, that in this world of ours no one ever does anything just out of the goodness of their hearts. There is always an ulterior motive, remember that Percy."

"That." Percy said with a sad smile. "Is something I am very much aware of, it is a lesson I learned long ago."

"So what is it going to be, do you want to be adopted and have a real, if admittedly slight odd family? Or do you want to continue on alone?" Melinoe asked, a strange, unreadable, expression on her face as she looked at the dark haired demigod.

"How do I know I can trust you?" Percy asked, already aware of what his answer was going to be.

"Because I swear on the Styx that everything I have told you is the truth and that as long as you don't betray me, I won't betray you." Melinoe replied, thunder booming in the distance as her oath was accepted.

"Then yes, I will agree to be your son, and I swear on the Styx that as long as you don't betray me, I won't betray you!" Percy replied, thunder once again booming overhead in acceptance.

Melinoe smirked again at that. "Mutually assured destruction. I like it; it seems like you know how to play the game."

"So how do we do this? Blood transfusion or something?" Percy asked, ignoring her last comment as he instead just cocked his eyebrow and sent the goddess a questioning look.

"Oh nothing like that." Melinoe replied dismissively, moving closer to him so she was right in front of him. "It is just sealed with a kiss."

Then without another word Melinoe closed the distance, her lips touching Percy's forehead.

For Percy it was like being struck by lightning, as he felt a sudden painful surge of foreign energy tearing through his body.

So much so that within seconds he blacked out.

Every fibre of his being pulsating painfully as darkness overwhelmed him, with the last thing he saw before he passed out being the face of Melinoe smirking at him, even as she faded into silver mist.

"Do me proud Percy. Do me proud." Was the last thing he heard before he hit the ground unconscious, the Celestial Bronze blade falling from his now limp hand.

**( - )**

**AN: And so the plot thickens, Percy is now at Camp Half Blood, what will happen now. He has his ongoing mission from Hades, and he has now been given a bigger, more open one to complete. Plenty of stuff yet to come!**

**Other than that I hope you all like what's happened so far, as you can see I have introduced a lesser used god, one whose motives are unclear, and whose presence could affect the direction and choice Percy makes going forward, especially with the ongoing issues that affect the PJ verse at this time.**

**Suffice to say a self-serving, mercenary, yet loyal to his friends only, Percy, will be quite an interesting character to write going forward. Which way will he go, which side will he join? How much chaos will he cause? Lots of questions and things to think on for the future!**

**Hope you all enjoyed the chapter and leave a review! Please try out my other stories if you have the time. Catch you all later and thanks for reading.**

**Greed720.**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: So hey all, here is the next chapter of the Light in the Dark, I hope you enjoy it! Interestingly it is my fifth update in five days, I am kind of on a roll for this week, over thirty thousand words written and posted on five different stories. Personally I am pretty chuffed by that, especially since I only have a couple of hours a night free after work and my other commitments. **

**Fortunately though I dialled back on going to the pub, I'm saving money, and ran out of things to watch. **

**But yes anyway, patting myself on the back aside, here is the next chapter, I hope you all enjoy it and leave a review. **

**The response thus far has been great, so thanks for that, I really do appreciate all the support.**

**Thanks for reading and please do leave a review if you fancy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson etc.**

**( - )**

**(Last Time)**

_Then without another word Melinoe closed the distance, her lips touching Percy's forehead._

_For Percy it was like being struck by lightning, as he felt a sudden painful surge of foreign energy tearing through his body. _

_So much so that within seconds he blacked out. _

_Every fibre of his being pulsating painfully as darkness overwhelmed him, with the last thing he saw before he passed out being the face of Melinoe smirking at him, even as she faded into silver mist._

_"Do me proud Percy. Do me proud." Was the last thing he heard before he hit the ground unconscious, the Celestial Bronze blade falling from his now limp hand._

**( - )**

**Chapter 5**

**( - )**

"Gods dammit!" Percy muttered to himself as he wearily trudged his way through the woodlands that bordered Camp Half Blood.

To say he had awoken on the wrong side of bed would be an understatement. He had literally woken up barely ten minutes ago, lying on the hard and uncomfortable forest floor, his head propped up on a particularly hard and gnarled tree root.

Due to this, normally it would have been entirely unsurprising had he woken up stiff, and in discomfort.

But that was not how he had woken up; instead he had woken up with a scream of pain. The reason being because of the absolute agony he was in, with it having felt like he had just been dipped in a vat of freezing cold acid.

In fact when he had first woken up he could barely think because the pain was so bad, it was the worst pain he had felt in his life, which said something because he had been injured quite a few times in his years of adventuring.

Luckily though, his agony was only short lived, as it soon faded away to a dull, bone deep ache, and even that was fading as his body slowly adjusted to the infusion of Melinoe's power. His enhanced demigodly healing and durability, no doubt had some part to play in this. After all had he just been a normal mortal, the blessing he had just received would no doubt have killed him.

That said thought, just because his body was no longer throbbing with pain anymore this didn't stop him from feeling tired though. His sleep last night on the forest floor had hardly been all that restful.

Continuing on through the trees he soon made it out of the forest, his dark eyes squinting slightly in the bright morning sunshine. It appeared he had spent the entire night in the forest, which in turn meant that he had lucky, lucky he hadn't been attacked by some monster whilst he was sleeping.

Looking over at the surrounding cabins, Percy frowned slightly as he once again noted how only the Olympians were represented at the camp. It was both unfair, and unnecessary that the minor gods did not get the recognition they deserved.

It would not be too much of a burden to build more cabins for the other gods and their children, the work of a couple of days.

That said, despite the ease with which it could be accomplished, thinking on it now, Percy wasn't surprised that it had not been done. The ego and hubris of the Olympians was well known, even among the other Pantheons.

Pushing side those thoughts, and the thoughts of minor god's in general.

Percy instead tried to focus on the here and now.

Admittedly though he was still a little pissed off after his painful morning. Mainly due to the fact that he knew Melinoe could have transported him to the Hermes Cabin or created him a more comfortable sleeping spot, with just a click of her fingers.

Of course she didn't, whether that was due to her oblivious, or down to her just not giving a damn, Percy was unsure.

Continuing on to the cabins, Percy headed in the direction of the humble looking Hermes Cabin, having already decided that he would try to get at least four hours sleep on a comfortable bed.

This was non-negotiable; he did not care about silly camp activities or anything else.

No, he just wanted to lie down in a dark room and on a comfortable bed and sleep.

Unfortunately though, this was not to be.

Just as he reached the entrance to the Hermes Cabin he heard someone calling out to him from behind, a familiar someone at that.

"Oi! Percy" Thalia called out with a cheerful grin as she ran over to the mercenary.

"Thalia…" Percy sighed in response as he turned to look at the girl, his eyes flickering over the baggy grey T-shirt she was wearing under a slightly worn looking leather jacket with disappointment. He had been hoping she would be wearing something a bit tighter… a bit more form fitting. "How are you a morning person?" Percy continued with a sigh as he looked up and met Thalia's electric blue eyes with his own tired ones.

"Ermm Percy… its eleven am." Thalia replied with amusement, her smile fading as she took in Percy's haggard looking appearance, before a slight frown crossed her face. "What happened to you though? It looks like you have just seen a ghost?"

Percy blinked at that in confusion, not understanding how the girl could know about his secret meeting with Melinoe. He knew he was a pretty observant guy. He would have known if someone had followed him last night, and even if, in the unlikely case, someone did follow him without him noticing then, Melinoe, a god, would, or should, have caught them.

"What do you mean?" Percy asked in genuine curiosity. Not sure what he would if he would do if he found out she had spied on him. Would he be pissed, or would he congratulate her for pulling one over on him?

"You've not looked in a mirror recently have you?" Thalia asked a bemused expression on her face as she reached for her bracelet, the pretty, silver charm bracelet on her left wrist rapidly forming into the replica of Athena's shield Aegis as she did so. Turning the shield to the side Thalia then used the shiny, silver reflective surface of the shield as a mirror as she gestured for Percy to look at himself.

Frowning slightly Percy, not daring to look directly at the horrific face on the shield, did as he was bid.

Looking in the mirrored surface of the shield Percy's eyes widened slightly. His previously tanned skin had become many shades lighter, giving him a paler, though not unhealthy, appearance. That was not the only change though; his previous inky black hair had also faded, with it now having a number of strands of grey in it.

Luckily though his eyes had not changed, they were still the same dark colour they had always been. Pushing down his surprise over his change in appearance, Percy let out a slight chuckle as he realised what Thalia meant. With his pale skin and his prematurely greying hair he really did look like he had just seen a ghost.

Looking away from Thalia's shield a wry smile on his Percy replied. "Looks like Melinoe's claiming had more of an effect on me than I realised."

"Ha!" Thalia snorted. "Because she is the Goddess of Ghosts!"

Percy rolled his eyes at that, even as his lips twitched upwards in amusement.

"So not that this isn't hilarious. But what's up Thalia." Percy asked as he deliberately changed the topic of the conversation. "I am kind of a little tired and was hoping for a nap…"

"And miss out on our spar?" Thalia asked with a raised eyebrow. "I never thought you would be one to chicken out!"

"Ahh shit the spar." Percy groaned as he rubbed his forehead with his right hand. "Can we delay it slightly?"

"Well we can if you want..." Thalia replied with a slightly disappointed frown, before a sudden mischievous gleam entered her eyes. "I suppose if you need some time to compose yourself that's fine. I mean I would probably want some time to if I was about to fight a superior opponent…."

Percy frowned at that, more than aware of what Thalia was doing. Still though he was Percy fucking Jackson! He feared nothing!

"Get your arse to that arena, Grace! I am about to show you who the superior fighter is!" Percy said suddenly, forcibly pushing away his tiredness as he gave Thalia a challenging grin.

A grin that Thalia rapidly returned. "Oh, maybe you're not as much of a pussy as I thought ghost boy!"

"You really want to play this game… thunder thighs." Percy replied his smile becoming more predatory as he decided to match wits with the Daughter of Zeus.

Thalia's form was enshrouded in lightning as she heard that comment. Multiple bolts of lightning crackling around her ominously as she glared at Percy. "Oh I am so going to enjoy kicking your arse. The arena now! You little bitch!" Thalia growled as her electrical blue eyes danced with power as she glared challengingly into Percy own orbs.

"Bring it spark plug!" Percy grinned, his tiredness forgotten as he rose to Thalia's challenge.

As they did so, the two of them were so focused on each other as they both began to march to the Camp's training arena, that neither of them noticed that they had begun to gain a small audience.

All of whom were muttering excitedly to each other as they passed on the word of the spar to come. Many of them, Hunters and Campers alike, looking forward to seeing what the new guy was made of. With some of them, mainly the children of Ares, looking forward to the newbie being given a proper Camp Half Blood welcome.

**( - )**

**(Five Minutes Later at the Camp Arena)**

At present, Theo, along with the other Demigods and Hunters at Camp was currently sitting on one of the stone benches that surrounded the Camp's training arena.

He had been told about the upcoming spar barely minutes ago by an overly excited Travis Stoll, who along with his brother had already began taking bets on who would win, Thalia the powerful child of Zeus, or Percy the mysterious child of a minor goddess, Melinoe.

Suffice to say Theo was conflicted, one part of him couldn't forget how skilled, Percy, the other Jackson, was in the skirmish in Maine with the Manticore. But another part of him knew that he should remain loyal to his friend, and the camp leader, Thalia; even if she was still a bit pissed off at him for his actions in Maine. That and she was also pretty scary when angered.

With that in mind, he, in the end, just decided to take the easy option and just not bet on either of them. His justification being that as a child of the Sea he should really just go with the flow.

Yeah, no one bought that.

But he didn't care, he had long since gotten used to the judgement of the other campers, and how they looked down on him for not being as brave as a child of the Big Three should, or as authoritative.

Pushing that thought away, Theo instead focused on what was going on in front of him.

Currently stood in the arena standing opposite one another were Thalia and Percy.

Thalia notably had taken off her leather jacket and was instead was now wearing a Celestial Bronze breastplate, her silver shield Aegis held in her left hand, with her retractable Celestial Bronze spear held at the ready in her right.

Percy on the other hand was currently wearing some kind of black metallic light armour, which according to a whispered comment from a nearby Hunter was made out of Stygian Iron, a divine metal from the Underworld.

In his right hand was held a Celestial Bronze Khopesh, a two foot long curved blade of Egyptian design. His left hand meanwhile was holding a two foot long, straight, golden gladius. Apparently, once again thanks to the knowledgeable Huntress whose name he thought was Phoebe, it was made of a type of metal called Imperial Gold.

"Strange that he has been able to gather so much equipment." Phoebe said to some of her fellow Hunters, even as she gave Percy a look filled with barely veiled curiosity. "It could go some way to explaining how the boy was able to survive so long outside of the Camps."

"Careful Phoebe." Zoe Nightshade, the Lieutenant of the Hunt, commented her black eyes flashing warningly at Phoebe for some reason. Though what that reason was Theo didn't know, Phoebe however seemed to understand as she nodded her head in acknowledgment.

"The reason is surely obvious." Another younger looking blonde Hunter commented, a look of distaste on her face as she looked over at Percy. "The boy is a scavenger, nothing more than a vulture subsisting of the scraps others; braver, and more powerful than himself leave behind."

"And yet he is still alive." Zoe replied calmly, her voice devoid of judgment as she looked at Percy in interest. "An admirable achievement even if his methods were less than honourable."

"As if a male could ever have a thing like honour." The same Hunter as before sneered.

"As you get older Olivia you will come to realise that males, just like females, can be both good and bad." Zoe replied her eyes fixed on Thalia and Percy as they began to slowly circle around each other, both of them no doubt looking for an opening with which they could begin the spar. "Though more often than not, I will admit, men do prove themselves to be more untrustworthy and violent than women."

Both Phoebe and the now named Olivia snorted at that in amusement.

Theo meanwhile winced slightly at hearing her words, but still decided not to comment. After all the side of the Arena he and a number of the other Campers were sat at also hosted the Hunters. All of whom had a bit of a reputation when it came to males. The last thing he wanted was to say the one thing to the prickly archers and start a riot.

**( - )**

**(In the Arena)**

"Come on then. Are you going to fight?! Or do you just want to dance around all day?" Thalia called over to Percy, a grin on her face as her grip on her spear tightened.

Already she had begun calling on her powers over lightning, and as such could already feel the energy crackling beneath the surface of her skin, enhancing her body and sharpening both her mind and reflexes.

Shifting to the side carefully, her eyes still on Percy, Thalia could feel her senses becoming sharper by the second; so much so that she could feel the light breeze as it passed over her face, and hear the slight crunch of the earth beneath Percy's booted feet as he moved, along with the steady beat of the heart in his chest.

It was an amazing feeling when she used her lightning like this to supercharge the synapses in her brain. Even from where she was stood, she could listen in on all the quiet conversations their watchers were having, not that she bothered to, no her whole focus was on Percy and the fight to come.

Her sharp, electric blue eyes flicked back and forth, picking up the slightest of movements he made; the slight tensing of his legs as he prepared to move, the twitch of the fingers on his left hand, the slightly tightening of his right hand's grip on the handle of his Khopesh.

He was about to make his move.

Listening closely she could hear a slight hitch in his breathing, see the way his eyes flickered away from her own as he clearly spotted something.

With barely a sound, Percy exploded forward from where he had been standing, his body low to the ground as he charged, his lower position making him both more difficult to hit and it easy for him manoeuvre.

As he rushed towards her though, moving far faster than a normal demigod, Thalia's enhanced vision was able to keep up with him, even as she knew that to some of the other watching demigods he would appear as little more than a blur.

Acting calmly, Thalia raised Aegis, holding it in such a way that the bright rays of the late morning sun would reflect off of her silver shield.

This would either blind Percy or, if not, draw his attention to the hideous head of Medusa, the gorgon, which embossed on the shield, a sight that could make even the most bold and hardened of warriors flinch.

Percy however continued on undeterred, shifting himself ever so slightly so that the reflected rays of the sun wouldn't both him, and not even bothering to look at her shield as he instead focused on her face.

Letting out a slight '"tsst" as her initial strategy failed. Thalia instead gripped her spear tighter preparing to thrust it forward to meet Percy's initial charge, pouring a little bit of her lightning into the spear as she did so in order to enhance both its piercing power and give it's every strike a nasty, electrical charge. Not enough to properly hurt her opponent, but enough to give him a shock.

Percy however continued on unbothered, using his own enhanced speed and agility to dart around constantly, making it look like he was going to change directions as he made his way towards, Thalia, parts of his body fading in and out of sight as he moved. His speed was far faster than her own, and his constantly appearing and disappearing body was unnerving and very distracting.

Thalia, in response, began to slowly back away, her shield and spear raised as she kept her eyes on Percy's fast moving form.

Seeing an opportunity, Percy, then suddenly changed tack and leapt forward, one of his feet leaving the ground as he landed a fast kick on Thalia's shield. The force of his kick knocking her backwards and leaving her guard momentarily open.

Pushing off the arena ground, Percy, practically flew forward, rushing the suddenly open, Thalia. His bronze blade moving in a blur as he caught Thalia's spear in the curve of his sword and deflected it to one side, forcibly knocking it away from her body and creating a bigger opening.

At the exact same time, with his other hand, he thrust his golden gladius forward, its tip lowered, and the blade horizontal, as he stabbed it into the opening he had created in her guard, ignoring the lightning that was beginning to arc off of her as he did so.

With a slight shout Percy slammed the blade into Thalia's armoured chest, aiming not for the opening on her side where the armour was buckled, or her armpit, but instead at the plate metal front.

This was a spar, he wasn't trying to kill her.

The force of the strike, cracked her bronze armour, even as, with a screeching sound, the tip of his Imperial Gold Gladius glanced off of her Celestial Bronze breastplate.

Her armour had done its job, it had protected her from the strike.

Thalia however did not take the advantage he had gained idly as she instead released a wave of static from her body. More lightning than before erupting from her armoured form and forcing Percy to back off, even as Thalia danced backwards, channelling more lightning through her spear, after which she sent a bolt of lightning through the air and straight at Percy.

Taking this in stride, Percy crossed his two swords in front of him, catching the lightning bolt on his gold and bronze swords, before he whipped them to the side and dispersed the attack.

Raising his left hand, Percy then returned his Imperial Gold gladius to its ring form, the ring settling on the ring finger of his left hand, even as he twirled his Khopesh in his hand, his dark eyes narrowing as he watched Thalia tensely, both hands now gripping onto the handle of his Khopesh.

And it was good that he did, as in the few moments it took Percy to disperse her attack, Thalia had already started moving, her body and weapon now enshrouded in lightning as she charged at Percy, moving so fast that she was almost on a par with Percy's own speed.

Grinning at this, Percy, gripped his Khopesh tighter and met her charge head on, his heart beating faster as the excitement of the match seemed to get to him.

Moments later though, as they clashed, Percy quickly found that the cloak of lightning that the daughter of Zeus was using did not just act as a defence, but that it also both enhanced her body and acted as a constant weapon that would electrocute anyone that got to close.

Something Percy found out to his pain as he was forced to dodge back, dancing out of the way of Thalia's thrusts and charges, completely on the defensive now as the dark haired girl harried him.

The shroud of lightning around her was now so intense that he couldn't even get within stabbing distance of her now, or at least not without getting jolted, and considering her speed and aggressive fighting style he soon found himself backing off more often than not, using his Khopesh to deflect and block her spear, even as the lightning danced across his blade and gauntlets, sparks of it occasionally giving him as minor shock.

Thalia was turning out to be a pain in the arse to fight.

Darting backwards after their latest clash, Percy's foot suddenly slipped on some loose earth.

Letting out a shout of victory as she saw this, Thalia, swung her spear around, channelling lightning through it as she did so.

This in turn had the result of sending a wave of lightning all around the arena, even as she aimed the tip at Percy and released a large blast of chain of lightning directly at him.

Allowing himself to fall backwards, Percy dodged the main blast of lighting and then rolled to his feet and avoided the other smaller bolts that were crackling through the air all around him.

He was beginning to get annoyed, especially since a part of him knew that if he were start using the gifts he had received from his true parent, like his 'Meteor' power, then he could probably end this spar much quicker than he would be able to if he limited himself.

But unfortunately he couldn't; not now that he had the cover of being Melinoe's child in place. His ability to bend the light around him so as to become invisible, i.e. his ability to go invisible, could be waved away as an inherited ability at a stretch. His other ones however, they probably couldn't, and if he were to start using them, questions, obtrusive ones at that, would start being asked of him.

On top of which, for some reason, he knew he didn't want his true parentage getting out, despite him not knowing what it was himself.

Just why that was though he didn't know, but deep down he knew it could lead to something he might not enjoy.

Whipping his sword around, Percy once again deflected Thalia's latest spear thrust, gritting his teeth as he felt her lightning bounce off of his gauntlets and shock his bare arms.

He was beginning to get annoyed.

Grinning suddenly, Percy, once again changed tact, changing his ring back into a golden gladius, he suddenly rushed the daughter of Zeus. A smirk spreading across his face as he bore the pain of the static lightning shocking him, even as he saw the look of surprise on her face. His grin widening, despite the pain rushing through his nerves, even as he twisted the blades in his hands and lashed out at her.

Letting out a grunt, Thalia, only just managed to raise her shield in time to block Percy's attack, but not before a bone-wrenching clang emanated from the sound his gladius made as it struck the shield, with the sound of metal screeching on metal echoing throughout the arena.

Thalia, in response, only just managed to recover from the sudden attack, her lightning cloak having been temporarily disrupted, even as Percy continued his assault, his Khopesh and gladius moving with a casual and calculated air as the twin blades smashed relentlessly, remorselessly, against Thalia's shield. Each powerful strike knocking her backwards, or staggering her, as he continued to keep close in on her, making her long spear all but useless as she was forced onto the defensive.

Percy by this point was a whirlwind of blades as he struck out at her with punishing blows, forcing her to hide behind her shield as he didn't give her a chance to counterattack, or gain the time she needed to concentrate and create her lightning cloak again.

Not that she wasn't going to try as she rammed her shield forward at Percy, before following it up with a swing of her once again lightning covered spear. Attempting to hit him with the shaft of her spear, which although probably not doing any real damage would definitely at least give him a good zap. It would be lke being hit with a cattle prod. Especially since she had concentrated all of her a gathered lightning into it. This in turn would hopefully make him back off and give her the time she needed to properly recover.

Not that it worked as Percy turned his body so he could avoid the daughter of Zeus's shield bash, before he ducked down allowing her spear to go over his head. The blade in his right hand swinging around as he did so, even as he stabbed his gladius up and into Thalia's now exposed chest.

With a twist of his wrist, Percy also used the curved blade of the Khopesh to his advantage as he also tried to take advantage of her overextended arm to disarm Thalia of her spear.

This back fired though because as Percy's blade made contact with Thalia's spear, a bolt leapt from the spear to the blade, and the from the blade it hit Percy. The sudden jolt causing Percy to flinch involuntarily, which disrupted the strike of his gladius, which in turn struck the side of Thalia's breastplate and glanced off, putting an inch deep gouge into the metal but nothing else.

Seeing her lucky escape Thalia panicked and released a blast of pure lighting from her body, forcing Percy to back off unless he be either electrocuted, or, if he was really unlucky, temporarily paralyzed.

Breaking apart for several moments, Percy quickly took note of how Thalia was once again on the defensive, her large shield held in front of her as she slowly moved, making sure to keep an eye on Percy even as she began to draw on her demigodly abilities and charge up more lightning.

"You know, that lightning of your is really annoying." Percy commented lightly, his words belaying the irritated frown on his face as he felt his arms still tingling, and slightly numb, from where her lightning had shocked him.

"I know, it is, isn't it!" Thalia replied with a tired grin, even as she kept her eyes on Percy. "But no more annoying that your damn invisibility thing, it's distracting, and makes it all but impossible to properly keep track of you!"

"Oh, I know. So, are you ready?" Percy asked, before, without waiting for an answer, or any hesitation, he darted forward hoping to once again take Thalia off guard.

Not that it worked as Thalia once again let a blast of lightning out of her body in a three hundred and sixty degree range.

Seeing this Percy danced backwards again, digging his gladius into the floor of the arena as he did so, before with a flick of his wrist he sent a spray of dirt and dust at her, in an attempt to cloud her field of vision.

It didn't work.

Swinging her spear through the air in response, Thalia used her limited aerokinesis, inherited from Zeus the God of the Sky, to blow the dust and dirt away so that it would not disrupt her vision.

"Is that it?" Thalia called out challengingly as she continued to move about, her blue eyes narrowed as locked gazes with the annoyed looking, Percy.

"Hn." Percy grunted, raising his swords as he prepared to clash with her once more.

**( - )**

**(With those watching the fight)**

"Woah, they are really going at it aren't they?!" Travis Stoll, a son of Hermes, spoke up as he watched Thalia and Percy duke it out in the centre of the arena.

"Yeah it's pretty awesome, the new guy really isn't that bad is he?!" Will Solace, a child of Apollo, agreed as he kept his eyes on Percy and Thalia as they slowly began to circle one another again.

"Ha! As if!" Olivia, the same Hunter as before spoke up, a scowl on her pale face as her brown eyes locked onto Thalia, who at this moment was once again covered in her shroud of lightning. "The child of Zeus has the boy on the ropes."

"I am not sure, it looks more like a stalemate to me." Phoebe replied neutrally before she looked over to Zoe, the lieutenant of the Hunters of Artemis, who, like the others, was concentrating on the ongoing match. "What do you think, Zoe?"

Zoe didn't reply at first, her dark eyes instead fixed on the two as she thought back over what they had seen so far. Letting loose a slight sigh she replied to Phoebe. "Thalia will lose. She has more power, but she is outclassed in terms of skill and experience, and that is showing in how she is constantly being put on the defensive."

"What, are you serious!?" Olivia asked as she looked over at Zoe in shock, forgetting for a moment that she was her superior. "The boy can barely get near her and if he can't breach her defence, how in the Hades can he expect to win?"

"No, I see it now." Phoebe spoke up, answering for Zoe as she concentrated on what was actually going on. "Thalia's defence is indeed strong, but it is also taxing. Compared to the boy she is using up a lot more energy defending than he is using attacking. Eventually her defence will begin to weaken, at which point the boy will strike."

"Hn!" Olivia huffed as she glared at Percy. "How cowardly and dishonourable."

"But tactical." Zoe added in as she looked over at Olivia. "Like a hunter would if they found a beast too strong to kill immediately. He is weakening her, putting her on edge, making her use up her energy, biding his time before he strikes."

"Cold and methodical." Phoebe added, her eyes narrowing as she scrutinized Percy. "Just who is this boy?"

"I am not sure." Zoe replied to her long-time friend. "But he is not like your average demigod."

"Still a filthy male though." Olivia said somewhat huffily after realising that her sisters did not share her opinion.

"Maybe." Zoe said absently, nodding her head, even as she kept her dark obsidian eyes fixed on the oddly familiar looking Percy. She felt like she had seen him before, or at least he reminded her of someone she had seen before. It was odd.

**( - )**

**(Back in the Arena)**

Thalia was becoming more and more tired, Percy could tell that from just a glance.

Her power over lightning, although devastating, was also very taxing, especially for someone so young.

Still though, despite the signs of exhaustion he could see, he was still cautious. This could be a feint, she might be lowering her defences in order to bait him into getting within the range of her lightning.

Scowling, Percy, pondered what to do next; he could take a risk and charge in now, which could lead to a swift end to the fight. Or he could hold back and wait, which could end up giving the girl more time to strategise and, or, allow her to recover some of her lost power.

It was a tricky decision, one that he would not normally have to make. After all normally he had his Stygian Iron bow with him, something he had a natural affinity for. Which is why, in general, he tended to deal with most enemies from a distance before going in to mop up the rest with his close combat skills.

Not the most glamorous way of fighting, but fuck glamour, he was a mercenary, a hired killer. He wasn't the type to prance around with some fancy sword taking on armies for no reason.

No, doing that would only end up with him dead, his experience of the world thus far, and his knowledge of history, had taught him that much.

Demigods who became heroes, they tended to die young.

Biting his lip, Percy decided to go for it.

This was only a spar after all, it wasn't like it was a life or death battle.

With that in mind Percy darted forward, hurling his gladius at Thalia as he did so, treating the heavy blade like one would an oversized throwing knife.

In a proper battle one would not normally throw away one of their weapons.

Fortunately though this wasn't a proper battle.

Seeing his actions, Thalia began to grin, the lightning around her becoming more intense as she used it, her shroud of lightning, to deflect the thrown weapon away from her.

After which, after letting out what some would call a war-cry, Thalia, sprinted forwards, charging head on, straight at the blade wielding Percy. With her looking to end this fight now, while she had the chance, after all she was more than aware that if it came down to a battle of attrition that she would lose.

Instead she decided for the straight forward approach of charging head on with everything she had, and trying to overpower the son of Melinoe. Which considering she was the child of one of the Big Three should not be too hard!

Although that said, considering what she had seen from him so far, she might be overestimating herself here, or underestimating him.

As she moved, the blade tipping her spear coming to within about a foot of Percy's body, lightning crackled along the shaft of the weapon, increasing its piercing power and all round deadliness. Thalia could almost taste her victory.

Seeing this, Percy, cursed his rash actions, even as he made to swerve his abdomen to the left in order to avoid the lightning covered edges of the spear.

Following on from which, at the same time, he swung his blade around, aiming to knock Thalia's large shield away from her body, the palm of his left hand beginning to light up with a white, gold glow, as he unconsciously started drawing on his original Demigod power, his hand rising as he moved past the crackling spear, and prepared to slam it into Thalia' damaged breastplate. The palm of his hand now glowing a golden orange, the air around it visibly shimmering due to the sheer amount of heat emanting off of it.

Before they clashed however, Thalia, without any hesitation, dropped her shield, an action that caused Percy's blade to swing wide as it no longer had anything to connect to.

Releasing a blast of pure lightning from her body, Thalia covered her now free hand in a crackling gauntlet of pure lightning before she thrust it forward at Percy's now exposed gut. Keeping a wary eye on the blade in his hand, and the glowing palm of his other hand, as she did so.

She had seen what the glowing energy in his hand could do, back in the clearing where she had first met him, she had seen him use it to kill a monster by just touching it.

Still, Thalia, kept her mind on the fight. Already she was feeling more wired than ever before as the lightning flowed through her, speeding up the electrical responses in her brain and enhancing her entire body, increasing her speed so that, for the first time in the fight, it was even faster than Percy's own.

Closing in on Percy, she saw the surprise on his face at her actions, and saw an opening in his form as his sword swung wide, an opportunity that she went for, her arm shifting as she aimed her lightning enshrouded fist at his armoured sternum.

Knowing as she did so, that the blow, if it landed, would knock the breath out of him, and probably breaking a few ribs at the same time. She had practiced this move before, and knew how much damage it could do. It wouldn't be fatal, not with the current voltage, but it would give her all the opportunity she needed to bring her spear round and finish the spar.

**( - )**

A second later, and the daughter of Zeus found herself smashed into the floor, gasping for breath, the shattered remains of her armour Celestial Bronze armour falling down all around her, like shrapnel rain.

Looking up Thalia's blue eyes almost crossed as she found herself looking at the tip of Percy's curved blade.

Flicking her eyes away from the deadly weapon she instead met Percy's own surprised orbs. A slight frown on her face as she tried to piece together just how in Hades she had lost when only seconds before she had thought she had won!

Percy too, was pondering the very same thing as he looked down at the daughter of Zeus. His mind going back to what had just happened.

He remembered how her actions had taken him by surprise, he also remembered seeing Thalia's lightning enshrouded fist been coming straight at him. A finishing blow if ever there was one.

Frowning, Percy remembered what he had felt after that. He had felt his gut suddenly clench, then he had felt a strange cold rush of power. His skin had begun to tingle, almost like something soft was brushing against it.

Widening his eyes, a slight grin spread across his face as Percy remembered exactly what had happened next.

Thalia's attack had hit him.

Only instead of hurting him in anyway it instead just harmlessly just passed through his body. It was as if for that moment he had been some kind of illusion. No it was like he had become almost like a ghost for a moment, and a moment is all that he needed.

With the threat of Thalia's attack now gone all he needed to do was follow through with his own, which he did. His glowing palm striking her chest and unleashing the built up power in a single blast, shattering her damaged armour and flooring the daughter of Zeus in a single hit.

His grin widening, Percy looked down at the confused looking daughter of Zeus.

"Yield?" He said.

Thalia frowned in response, her electric blue eyes piercing his own, before her lips twitched upwards.

Shaking her head she replied. "I don't know how the hell you pulled that off, but next time, the next time I am beating you!"

With that said Percy held his left hand out for her to take, his blade now hung limply at his side, distantly aware as he did so of all the shouting and cheering coming from the raised stands that surrounded the arena.

Taking his proffered hand Thalia found herself pulled to her feet, stumbling forward into Percy's arms as she did so.

"You fought well, Thalia." Percy said as he looked at the girl. "You almost defeated me back there!"

**( - )**

**AN: So a fun little spar and a bit of interaction there. Have to say for a long range specialist, I've deliberately made it so, he is still able to hang up close with some of the big hitters. He's sort of like archer from fate in that he is very good with a bow and will generally use that, but when necessary has the skill and experience to fight in close combat. Make of that what you will. Either way, this was still an interesting chapter to write as it allowed me to play around with developing the different powers more. That said next chapter we will continue with the story, pushing the plot forwards as we have the Capture the Flag coming and the inevitable quest to save a certain chained goddess. **

**On top of that we've got lots of plotting, interactions, character developments and fights to look forward to as the story progresses and the changes, brought about by Percy's mere existence and proficiency, begin to become very apparent.**

**Other than that, thanks a lot for reading and I hope you all leave a review, most I know won't, but for those that do, ta. If you have any questions feel free to PM me. Do check out my other stories if you have the time.**

**Thanks a lot for reading.**

**Greed720.**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: So it's been a few weeks but here we are with the next chapter, I hope you all like it! The response so far has been brilliant, I really appreciate it! I hope you all continue to support, and that the story gains more traction as it progresses.**

**Thanks for reading, and for all the reviews. As ever if you have any question feel free to PM me, I'm usually good at answering those! **

**Also please do checkout my other stories if you have the time, there is quite the eclectic section on my bio.**

**Please do enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson etc.**

**( - )**

**(Last Time)**

_With that said Percy held his left hand out for her to take, his blade now hung limply at his side, distantly aware as he did so of all the shouting and cheering coming from the raised stands that surrounded the arena._

_Taking his proffered hand Thalia found herself pulled to her feet, stumbling forward into Percy's arms as she did so._

_"You fought well, Thalia." Percy said as he looked at the girl. "You almost defeated me back there!"_

**( - )**

**Chapter 6**

**( - )**

**(With Percy)**

"So, are you ready for this?" Thalia asked, her electric blue eyes flicking sideways towards him as she finished buckling a new Celestial Bronze breastplate over her chest.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Percy replied, a slight smile on his face as he slipped his own Stygian Iron cuirass on, his nimble fingers dancing across the straps as he adjusted it for comfort with practiced ease, after which he strapped on his Celestial Bronze greaves and bracers. "It's just a run of the mill game of capture the flag."

"Yeah, but this is a game of capture the flag which is played by Demigods." Thalia shot back, picking up a crested Celestial Bronze helmet from the table in front of her, before she put it on, covering her short, spikey black hair from view. The padded interior of the helmet allowing it to fit snugly and comfortably on her head as she started messing about with the neck strap, her face peering out from the opening in the hoplite like helmet.

"Melodramatic much…" Percy replied dryly, pulling on his own identical Celestial Bronze helmet, the bronze coloured; bracers, greaves and helmet, all clashing with his black cuirass, hoodie, trousers and boots.

Smirking as she heard that, Thalia, reached out and ruffled the crest of red dyed horsehair on the helmet's peak.

"Stop that," Percy grumbled, trying to ward her off as he did so.

"Then start taking this seriously." Thalia retorted, a smirk still on her face as she ceased her previous actions. "We wear armour for this game for a reason, you know. It can get pretty brutal, especially when we are fighting against the Hunters!"

As she said this both, Thalia and Percy, looked over at the group of silver clad girls, all of whom were calmly, almost boredly; stringing their bows, sharpening their silver knives and swords, or strapping on light armour.

None of them looked worried, if anything the confidence they exuded gave off the impression that their victory in this upcoming wargame was by this point, in their minds, a full gone conclusion.

Then again considering that for the last few centuries the Hunters had not lost a single game, maybe their confidence was not all that surprising.

"Just look at them, acting all cocky." Thalia growled under her breath, extending her retractable spear as she did so, before she jabbed the spiked end into the ground fiercely. "It's time to end their streak, and show them just how weak they are compared to us!"

"Why is it you've got such a personal grudge against them again?" Percy replied absentmindedly, his attention not on the pretty daughter of Zeus beside him, but instead on the younger, Bianca Di Angelo, the daughter of Hades.

The girl looked marginally different than she had just a day before. She seemed to stand taller, and already her previous skinniness was giving way to muscle, most noticeably on her bare arms. Along with that she seemed to hold herself more confidently that she had before, her black hair tied back in an identical plait to Zoë's as opposed to how it had used to cover her face. On top of which, like the other Hunters, she also seemed to exude a very faint silver glow.

The Blessing of Artemis apparently worked fast.

Not that this really surprised, Percy, after all he had seen the effects from the Blessing he had received from, Melinoe, almost immediately. Both in terms of physical changes, and in terms of his abilities.

That said, as he looked at the girl he couldn't help but ponder if a god's Blessing had an effect on a person's psyche, or mentality as well as on their bodies.

Bianca had just lost her brother, literally the other night.

She and everyone else in the know presumed the little brat dead, as opposed to where he actually was, down in the Underworld with his daddy.

Despite this though she did not look crushed or upset. There were no dark bags under her eyes from lack of sleep, or any redness to her sclera from tears that she might have shed. If anything the girl looked happier now than she had before, back when he brother had been with her and alive.

It was odd, even for someone as jaded as him.

The only possible thing, Percy, could pick out which might elude to her being a bit upset about losing her brother, was that she seemed to stick close to the beautiful, but entirely stuck up, princess like Lieutenant of the Hunt, Zoë Nightshade.

Annoyingly close.

So close in fact that already he thought any potential plan he might have had about squirreling her away during the upcoming capture the flag game was scuppered. Not that he had any realistic desire to do such a thing anyway.

If he and a Hunter of Artemis were to suddenly go missing at the same time, well it did not take a genius to work out what kind of assumptions people would come up with, especially the bigoted Hunters of Artemis.

Personally, Percy, liked his current freedom. The last thing he wanted was to be hunted across the world by a vengeful Goddess of the Hunt and her Girl Scout group. Nor did he like the idea of him being listed as persona non grata by Camp Half Blood. Alienating one of the few large groups of Demigods out there, was not a smart move.

No, it was probably for the best that he take his time, and only take Bianca Di Angelo when the time was right.

"Well like you say it's personal. I've already told you as much as I willing to, so drop it!" Thalia suddenly said, her voice breaking, Percy, out of his thoughts as he sent her a questioning look.

"What?" Percy asked, ignoring the Hunters now as he instead looked over at, Thalia, and the two dozen Demigods armouring up behind her.

"Look, I like you, but I've only just met you. I'm not about to start spewing my whole life story to you on a whim. Yeah I have a grudge against the Hunters you already, but the full reason why, it's personal, ok!" Thalia forged on, her brow noticeably furrowing.

"Oh, oh yeah, ok, yeah that's fine." Percy replied, quickly catching on to what the girl was talking about as he did so.

He'd been so focused on the Hunters that he had tuned Thalia and all else out.

"Good," Thalia nodded curtly, brandishing her silver Aegis shield, a weaker version of Athena's actual Aegis shield. "Now arm up. I'd suggest grabbing a shield and using one of your swords. Against the Hunters you'll need it, they mainly focus on long ranged attacks. Don't let your guard down when you do get in combat with them though, they might focus on using bows but some of those girls are centuries if not millennia old, they are pretty handy with knives, swords and spears too."

"Noted," Percy nodded, looking down at the table in front of him and the array of armour pieces, shields and weaponry present. A number of other Demigods, most of whose name's he did know, filtering passed him and helping themselves, as he did so.

Scanning the table a slight smile spread across Percy's face as he spotted an English longbow, complete with a spiked Celestial bronze tip on each end, and a crest of a golden sun on the main body, just lying on the table. No doubt a leftover weapon from a long dead son of Apollo.

Picking up the bow and grabbing a bound up bunch of blunt headed arrows, Percy, nodded.

"I'll go with attacking with a long ranged weapon," Percy said, stringing the bow with practiced ease and giving it a practice draw. The longbow was probably a two hundred an odd pounder, but despite the weight, he was able to draw it to its fullest, safest, extent with ease. "I'll probably go in dual welding my swords later, if I have to."

"Wait, you're an archer?" Thalia asked incredulously.

"That's where my main talent lies, yep." Percy nodded, ceasing his previous actions and resting the bow on his shoulder as he did so. "Though as I'm sure you noticed I am pretty good in close combat too!"

Thalia's expression turned sour at the reminder of their recent spar.

"Hey, are you two ready?" Theo suddenly interrupted, the slightly pudgy boy bouncing up to the two of them clad in his own Celestial Bronze armour and helmet, with his leaf shaped blade in one hand, and a plain, round shield in the other. "Chiron said we'll be starting soon."

"Yeah, almost." Thalia nodded, tearing her gaze away from Percy as she did so.

"Hey, that's a bow!" Theo suddenly said, goggling at the bow in Percy's hands.

"Yes, yes it is." Percy replied mildly.

"But, well, I thought…" Theo trailed off, looking awkwardly between Percy and Thalia, his own mind no doubt going back to the recent spar too.

"Right enough talk, gather everyone up, Theo, we need to come up with a game plan." Thalia interrupted swiftly, catching both of their attentions, her electric blue eyes momentarily flicking over to the nearby gathered group of Hunters as she did so.

All of whom, nearly a score and a half, they had reduced their numbers so both sides had equal numbers and no one could complain about fairness, had huddled up in a group and were no doubt going through their own game plan as they did so.

The Hunter's might not look like they wanted to play at the moment, but that didn't mean that they wouldn't be bringing their A-game when they did play.

"If only Annabeth was here, she was the one good at coming up with strategies." Thalia grumbled under her breath, before she froze, her already pale skin going even paler, even as sick look crossed her face.

Looking sideways at Theo, Percy, could see that he too looked a bit pasty. Apparently the two of them were close to the blonde girl, Annabeth, so much so that even now, a day later they were effected by her death.

It was odd. Not the kind of reaction he expected, especially considering that they were both seasoned Demigods. They, unlike Bianca, should know that death walked hand in hand with the life of a Demigod. There was a reason only a small number of them made it to one of the Camps, and an even smaller number made it to adulthood.

"Sorry," Thalia muttered to Theo. "I'm, still not used to it. The idea of her not being here, of her being missing."

'You mean dead,' Percy thought to himself cynically, forcing down his desire to roll his eyes at their obstinate refusal to accept facts. Their friend was dead, she was gone. They just needed to deal with it.

"I-It's fine," Theo replied quietly.

"So, a game plan." Percy said, clapping his hands together and pitching his voice louder so that the rest of their group heard. "Let's all gather around and hash out what we're going to do!"

Hearing him the rest of the Demigods gathered around; him, Thalia and Theo, some of them sending the nearby Hunters the stink eye, as if warning them not to eavesdrop. Much to the Hunter's obvious amusement, as they looked over at them from the other side of the clearing, with Chiron, and a group of Satyrs and Nature Spirits milling about in between the two groups, readying themselves to invigilate the upcoming wargame.

**( - )**

**(Sometime Later)**

Perched in the boughs of a large tree about fifteen minutes later, Percy, kept his strung bow ready, an arrow already nocked and ready to be released as he waited for the conch horn to sound and for the game to begin.

Looking out at the darkening woodland around him, Percy, couldn't help but feel a thrill of excitement for the game to come run through him.

Internally he knew he shouldn't be getting excited over some mock wargame, especially considering the adventures and missions he often went on, most of which were far more dangerous and exciting than this heavily monitored game of capture the flag was going to be.

It was probably for this same reason, that the Hunters themselves looked so unenthusiastic. Compared to the real life trials of an active Demigod, this game was tame.

In spite this though he did still feel excited. It might be because he loved a good fight, or it might be because he got to act like a teenager for once, something he didn't often get to do, or at least not in such a setting as fighting in a wargame alongside other Demigods.

Honestly he wasn't sure. All he knew was that he was having fun, and he wanted to win; partly because he absolutely hated losing, and partly because he wanted to see the expression on, Zoë Nightshade's, face when her several century long winning streak was broken.

Yes, a bit of pettiness did come into play. He had heard what they were saying about him; before, during and after his spar with Thalia.

Smirking to himself in anticipation of the angry look on the dark haired girl's face, Percy, shifted on the branch, his grip on his bow tightening as his eagerness for the game to begin started to grow inside of him.

"So, Percy right, are you any good with that bow?" Michael, a nearby son of Athena asked from the branch he was perched on.

"Yeah, ghost boy, are you sure you can hit anything with that?" Will, a blonde haired, blue eyed son of Apollo asked from Percy's other side.

Both boy carrying curved bows of their own, as they, and five other children of Apollo, two children of Hermes, two unclaimed and the son of Athena waited in the trees, all of them spread out in small groups over a one hundred metre stretch of forest, for the game to begin.

"You don't have to worry about me," Percy smiled, flashing the pair of them a confident smirk. "I can hit a bullseye from two hundred fifty paces, and that is on a bad day."

Will Solace scoffed at that, his grip on his own bow noticeably tightening.

Michael however just sent him a curious look. "Well hopefully you're as good with a bow as you are with a sword."

"Just wait and see," Percy replied smoothly, unperturbed by the doubt. The longbow might not be as powerful as his Stygian Iron compound bow, but the six foot plus long longbow had more power than most of the other bows being used tonight, that probably included most of the Hunter's bows.

If Percy used a bodkin tipped Celestial Bronze arrow, as opposed to the blunt, non-lethal, flat headed arrows he was using at the moment, then he knew he could shoot an arrow through a fully armoured Demigod at, at least one hundred and fifty paces.

Truly, in the hands of a skilled marksman, a Demigod marksman with supernatural strength for that matter, a perfectly crafted longbow was on a par with a mortal sniper rifle.

Ok, Percy would admit he had just pulled that comparison out of his arse. But still, a bow in the hands of some who could use it to its fullest extent was still an incredibly deadly weapon.

The scores of Demigods, mortals and monsters he had sniped down from afar were evidence enough of that.

Smiling to himself at that thought for a moment, Percy, soon found himself unable to let his mind wander any further, as moments later the sound of Chiron's conch horn echoed through the woods.

The echoing, melodic sound of the horn, then being quickly followed by the roar of some of the Campers on the forest ground, as Thalia charged forward, leading five other Demigods behind her.

With, Theo, remaining back at the flag, guarding the position along with four other Demigods, whilst Percy and the eleven other archers waited spread-out in the trees overhead.

This of course left seven other Demigods unaccounted for, or at least it would for those that didn't know the plan, and that didn't know that those two teams had split into a group of four and a group of three and were looping around in a pincer movement as they advanced on Zeus's fist, the Hunter's basecamp.

With the bigger group being led by a bad tempered daughter of Ares, Clarisse something or other. Whilst the smaller group was being led by a quiet, yet friendly, daughter of Demeter called, Katie, something.

"Alright here they come!" Will, the leader of the archers called out, the other archers in the trees passing his words down to those that hadn't already nocked arrows, even as the others drew their bows and took aim. "Aim for the flashes of silver in the woods. The Hunters are fast, but with Thalia acting as a distraction we should be able to catch a few by surprise and thin their numbers."

Nodding as he heard the teens words, Percy, locked onto a fast moving silver figure that danced through the trees ahead of him, moving to intercept Thalia's group.

Releasing a breath, Percy, let go of the string, the flights of the arrow brushing lightly against his fingers as he watched it exploded forth from his bow.

Percy's eyes glowing gold as he drew on his original Demigod powers and looked through the darkening trees, the falling night fading away as his vision adjusted, until it was like, for Percy at least, it was broad daylight once again.

A moment later and Percy was heartened to see his arrow strike one of the running huntresses down with brutal force, the fast, agile moving huntress running headlong into the arrows path, following the movement's Percy had predicted she would take. Until, with an inaudible sound she was literal blown clear off of her feet as the blunt arrow struck her in the chest.

Her armour and her Blessing probably lessened the force of the blow and staved off any potential broken bones or internal damage. But it didn't deadened the impact completely, which is why she was rocketed off of her feet and sent flying back into a nearby tree, her head noiselessly bouncing off of the trunk as she then collapsed to the ground like a puppet that had had its strings cut.

"Nice shot!" Michael said, his own arrow missing and rebounding off of a trunk as close to a dozen rapidly moving silver figures rushed Thalia's smaller group, several silver arrows raining down from the other side of the forest as they did so.

"It was alright." Will chipped in grudgingly, his own golden arrow landing on another of the Hunters, only with less force than Percy's, not that that stopped a nearby dryad from popping out of a tree nearby, no doubt to tell the Hunter in question that she was 'dead'.

"Focus." Percy replied, another arrow already on his bow as he pulled back the string, aimed and loosed in a single fluid motion that lasted no longer than a few seconds.

His next arrow hurtling forward with the same force as before, only to once again blast a Hunter off their feet, even as the group of now eight, soon to be seven, erupted from out of the trees and engaged with Thalia's group.

Thalia's spear erupting in lightning as they did so, a barely audible shout leaving her lips as she raised her silver shield, making several of the Hunter's flinch back, after which, she and the two of her companions that had survived the Hunter's own volley of arrows, engaged the Hunters in combat.

Both groups clashing together in a fierce melee that only the bravest, boldest and most confident of archers would dare to fire into.

"Everyone break off, we need to move now; Group B go and support Clarisse's group, Group C go and support Katie's team, Group A prepare to fall back!" Will called out, two groups of four archers leaping down from their perches and sprinting into the forests as they moved to their assigned duties.

Whilst, Percy, Michael, Will and another child of Apollo, Alan or something, remained in the same area.

Though notably the three Campers all leapt down from their perches and sought other places to shoot from, even as silver arrows started lancing down from the foliage all around them. A couple of the silver of the arrows taking two of the retreating archers in the, Group B, out from behind.

"Percy!" Michael hissed from down below.

"Go, I'll provide a distraction!" Percy hissed back, not even looking at the blonde son of Athena as he instead shot three arrows, one after another, into the melee taking place a hundred and fifty odd yards in front of him.

Two of his shots hitting one of the huntresses as they knocked one of Thalia's companions to the ground. The first blow hitting her in the leg, and by the looks of it, and her cry of pain, fracturing something, whilst the other hit her in her lightly armoured chest and sent her hurtling to the ground.

Another one 'dead'.

His last arrow meanwhile only got a glancing hit on another Huntress, though it ended with the same result as it knocked her off balance and allowed Thalia to swipe the sword wielding girl's legs out from under her, and then finish her with a zap of lightning and a downward, nonlethal, jab of her spear.

"Come on, you heard him, Michael!" Will called out, not giving Percy a second glance as he instead ran into the trees, his brother following him.

"You're not good at following strategies are you!?" Michael grumbled resignedly from down below, before without waiting for a response he followed, Will.

"I call it improvising!" Percy called out after him, getting a two fingered salute and a wry grin from the boy for his trouble, before without looking at his retreating 'comrades' he turned back to the trees the Hunters were hiding in and released two more arrows.

The two arrows shooting well over the heads of those fighting down below and into the surrounding trees. One of them missing entirely as it got lost in one of the tree's foliage, the other though landed, and with a shaking of leaves it un-lodged a silver figure from the branch and sent said silver figure falling to the ground.

Only for the silver figure to agilely land and roll out of the fall without any issue. Not that that stopped her from being told she was 'dead' by yet another dryad that emerged from the same tree she had just fallen out of.

Gripping his bow tightly in his hand, Percy, sent a single cursory glance over to where, Thalia, was still fighting. The daughter of Zeus still going strong, despite it just being her and one other against two sword wielding Huntresses and a tall, muscly spear wielding Huntress, Phoebe, from what he could remember.

Grinning at this, Percy, jumped down from his perch his body going invisible as he did so, or at least everything that wasn't covered in armour made of either Stygian Iron or Celestial Bronze went invisible, the glow from which his little trick of bending the light around him couldn't hide.

Fortunately though the rapidly darkening forest did an admirable enough job of hiding him, so much so that the fact he was not completely invisible, was not too much of a bother.

Shifting to the side, Percy, avoided several silver arrows as they began to rain down around him, the huntresses on the other side of the forest no doubt all focusing on the spot he was in, in order to try and take down the sniper, i.e. him.

Not that it did them much good as, Percy, instead of running away, instead ran towards them. His body shifting to and fro as he used the trees for cover, occasionally stopping long enough to unloose an arrow at the tree line or to dodge a silver arrow.

Following this tactic he manged to get two more 'kills' in by the time he came upon the place where Thalia was still fighting, now just her against Phoebe. The five Campers that had supported her all having been 'killed', along with six of the seven Huntresses that had made it far enough to try and intercept her.

Their tactics, Percy mused, they didn't make sense, or at least not from where he was stood.

Ignoring this thought for the moment, Percy, instead dodged to the side, avoiding another silver arrow, after which he dodged again, nipping behind a tree as two more arrows slammed into the trunk, shattering bark, before bouncing off.

Nocking a new arrow, Percy, darted out from behind the tree and unloosed another shot, his golden eyes gleaming as he saw through the darkness and focused in on the three Huntresses he could see lurking in the trees some fifty yards from him.

Dodging to the side again, Percy, avoided another silver arrow, even as his shot took one of his attackers through the shoulder. Only for him to be taken by surprise as a second arrow hurtled towards him.

Drawing on his Demigod abilities, he suddenly felt a tugging in his gut after which the flat headed arrow hit him in the head, or at least it would have, had it not gone straight through his suddenly intangible body.

Grinning at his success, he was still a bit shaky with the new abilities he had gained curtesy of, Melinoe, Percy, grabbed one of his three remaining arrows. His body becoming visible once again, as with his faintly glowing armour, his invisibility was not that effective, or at least not effective against very sharp eyed huntresses.

Pulling the string of his English longbow back, Percy, let loose his arrow at the same time that he exhaled, the arrow striking the spot where a huntress had just been. Only the Huntress he had been aiming at to have learned from the mistakes of her fellows, which meant, that before he could hit her she had already moved, her partner doing the same.

The Hunters it appeared had realised that they were not hunting someone that couldn't fight back or that they couldn't take by surprise, like they were used, but were instead hunting a bigger, better predator.

Grinning at that admittedly arrogant thought, Percy, began to run forward, passing within a few feet of where Thalia was just finishing off her last remaining opponent, Phoebe. The huntress clearly having the upper hand in terms of skill and experience, but lacking in terms of raw power and strength, at least when it came to fighting one on one with a daughter of Zeus.

Unloosing his second to last arrow, Percy, attempted to predict the actions of the two huntresses he was hunting, both of whom had begun retreating back to their base, Zeus's Fist.

"Damn," Percy cursed, his arrow ricocheting off a tree trunk and missing his target.

His last and final arrow though didn't miss, as instead it took one of the Huntresses in the back, knocking her face first onto the ground with a loud "crumping!" sound, her head bouncing off of a protuberant tree root.

Casting his bow away, Percy, rushed forward the golden ring on his left hand forming into his Imperial Gold gladius as he drew on his original Demigod powers and started moving faster than ever, unnaturally fast. A slight golden glow emanating off of his skin now as he rapidly closed in on the fleeing huntress.

"What!" The huntress, a pretty blonde girl of around fourteen, cried out as she instinctively threw herself to the side to avoid him, her bow clattering to the floor as she dropped and then instead pulled out a pair of twelve inch long, silver hunting knives.

Sweeping his gladius to the side, Percy, deflected a desperate thrust from the girl.

The girl was fast, and she definitely had skill, that much was obvious, even if she had been taken off-guard and had been forced entirely on the defensive.

Whipping his blade around he continued to bull forwards their blades clashing several times as the girl gave ground and he tried to find an opening, both of them moving far faster than an average Demigod.

She was fast.

Twisting his gladius, Percy, caught one of her blades with his own and forced it away from her body, creating an opening.

But he was faster.

Lunging forwards, Percy's clenched fist, still emitting a slight golden glow, collided with the Huntress's armoured stomach. The blow nearly folding her in half, and the surprise making her drop her knives.

Following this up, Percy, slipping his leg behind hers and shoulder barged her, overbalancing her and sending her to the ground, his blade following moments later, only to come to a rest just a centimetre above her throat.

"Dead," Percy said with a smirk.

"Hn, whatever," The blonde grunted, avoiding Percy's gaze as she stubbornly looked away, her breathing coming out harsh and heavy as she tried to catch her breath after he had winded her.

"And I think that that would be a 'FATALITY!'" Thalia's voice sounded out a few moments later, her voice pitching oddly low as she said the last word. The dark haired teen, now absent her helmet, and looking slightly more battered and ragged then she had been at the start of the game.

"You finished her off then?" Percy asked, pulling his blade away from the scowling blonde face.

"Easily," Thalia grinned, leaning on her spear as she did so. Her bright smile at odds with her heavy breathing and the bleeding cut he could see dripping blood down her cheek.

"The rest of your group?" Percy asked shortly, ignoring the blonde huntress as she pushed herself to her feet, glowered at the pair of them, and then stormed away in a slight huff, pausing only long enough to grab her knives and bow.

"Dead, well in terms of the game. What about you, where is Michael, Will and Alex?" Thalia asked, inquiring about the three archers that were supposed to be with him.

"Not here, we split up." Percy replied, turning back and picking up his bow from where he had dropped it a few metres back, even as he kept a wary eye out for other Hunters. "We got hit by enemy fire, I took the initiative and chose to stay back and draw their attention while they fell back to support, Theo."

"That or you hid in the trees and let them go so you could use them as bait to draw out the enemy and snipe them…" Thalia shot back cynically, her lip curling upwards in spite of her accusations.

"A coincidence." Percy shrugged. "Do you know what's happening with the others?"

"No idea, if all went to plan though, Theo, and his group should hopefully still be defending the flag, and Clarisse and Katie's groups should be moving to attack the Hunter's base." Thalia shrugged, hefting her spear up as both she and Percy began to quietly head through the forest, the daughter of Zeus leading the way.

"If things went to plan," Percy said dryly, his once again dark eyes narrowing. "You and your group took out seven Hunters, with an assist from me for two. You're welcome by the way."

Thalia rolled her eyes at that, but didn't reply as she instead waited for him to continue.

"I then took out ten huntresses, nine with my bow and one just now, and Will took out one." Percy forged on, a light smile on his face as he saw Thalia's previous reaction. "That means that eighteen huntresses are now out of action, more than half of their total number."

"That leaves them with just twelve more. Let's say four stay on guard at Zeus's fist, what are the other eight doing?" Thalia muttered, the two of them weaving through the trees, their weapons in hands as they looked and listened out for either enemies or allies.

"Probably splintering off to attack our base. It wouldn't surprise me to think that the group we fought were a distraction. A sizeable one, and one that was meant to completely overwhelm us, but a distraction all the same." Percy nodded, a thoughtful look on his face.

"Knowing that bitch, Zoë, she's probably gone for our flag." Thalia muttered, her brow furrowing as she came to a stop and looked at Percy. "That's not good. Zoë might be a miserable, stuck up cow, but she is still incredibly dangerous and has been with the Hunt for a long time. No normal Demigod would be able to keep up with her. It would take at least a child of one of the more powerful Olympians, if not a child of the Big Three to even have a chance of taking her on."

Percy held back a petty retort as he heard this. Was this the dismissive attitude that Melinoe had spoken of. There didn't appear to be any malice in Thalia's casual dismissal of the children of minor gods and the unclaimed, but the causal way she said it, it irritated him a bit.

Pushing those thoughts back for now, Percy, focused on the matter at hand.

"Right, I would suggest that you go to Zeus's Fist and attempt to link up with one of the other groups and take the flag." Percy said, nodding to himself as he did so.

Thalia, with her skill and power set, was a tough fighter, she'd be able to look after herself and take the flag, even if the other teams had been wiped out.

"What about you?" Thalia replied, a slight frown on her pale face.

"I'll head back and check on our flag, and hopefully intercept Zoë if she's already got to it." Percy said, nodding now as he looked back the way they had just come.

Thalia sent him a curious look at that. No doubt she was wondering why he would give up the 'glory' of winning the flag so easily. Or at least that was how he interpreted the look she gave him.

"Ok, good luck." Thalia said after a moment, giving Percy a curt nod and a clap on the shoulder as she did so, before she turned and ran towards the Hunter's base.

"Right," Percy nodded, watching the girl go for a moment, his dark eyes flashing gold as he found himself watching her rather firm, attractive bottom for a few seconds as she ran through the forest.

He was a teenager, he couldn't help it.

Shaking his head at his own attempt to justifying his actions to himself, Percy, gripped his bow tighter and ran back the way they had come, his eyes still glowing gold as he looked about for any arrows that might be lying around that he could reclaim or scavenge.

**( - )**

**(Sometime Later)**

Running back the way he had come, Percy, kept his wits about him as he crossed passed the now empty battle site where so many Huntresses and Campers had 'fallen'.

He paused long enough to collect a couple of arrows as he did so, a half dozen silver Hunter arrows, six of the standard bronze arrows and two of Will Solace's golden arrows, all of which he shoved into the loose leather quiver he had on his back.

Using a quiver, it was not ideal for someone in combat, the arrows rattled about inside and the fletching's bent when he ran, on top of which, the arrows could fall out if he was knocked over.

Ideally for an archer they would jab their arrows into the ground at their feet and then stand their ground and let them loose.

In a game such as this though, where he was running around in a forest, as opposed to an ambush or a pitched battle, that tactic was not all that viable. Which was why he had had to go with a huntsman's quiver.

Drawing one of the silver arrows back on his bow, Percy, made it to the small stream, the dividing line between the two team's territories, the line which one or other of the teams needed to cross with the opposing teams flag to win.

Coming to a stop on the Hunter's side of the river, Percy, took his stance, his legs shoulder width apart and his bow raised, the string drawn back to his chin.

He could see several silver shapes flitting through the woods towards him. On top of that he could hear the shouts of the Campers and the sound of combat echoing over from the same direction.

"Hey you, ghost guy!" A large, broad shoulder girl with long, unkempt brown hair and a face that could be described as pretty, were in not for the somewhat brutish expression on it as she jogged towards him along the bank of the river, a red spear clutched tightly in her hand, and her armour looking distinctly dented and battered.

Looking sideways, Percy, watched as the girl, Clarisse, jogged up to him. The girl was alone, the rest of her group, and the archers that had gone to support her were missing. "What's the situation?"

"Bastards ambushed us," Clarisse grunted. "There were four of them, they took out two of us in their first volley. We managed to fight back and take out two of them, but I lost the other two with me when they fought back, and only two of you archer types came to back us up. They didn't last long either. It was a sideshow. We didn't manage to win, so I had to retreat. Damned archers!"

Percy sent a slight smile at her at her last comment. "So they wiped out your group. I take it you don't know what happened to the others?"

"No idea," Clarisse shrugged. "What's the situation with you?"

Drawing his bow back, Percy, loosed his silver arrow, the projectile striking a running huntresses plumb in the chest, the force of the blow knocking her clean off of her feet.

It was a damned good shot if he said so himself.

"Thalia is going for their flag. I'm here to stop them from taking ours." Percy replied, grabbing another arrow; nocking it, aiming it and then releasing it, all in a single motion. "Which they're trying to do right now. So get your spear and go stop them!"

"Don't tell me what to do!" Clarisse growled in response, even as she turned and looked at what was happening, the spear in her hand crackling with what looked like red lightning, before, moments later she let loose a battle cry and leapt across the river and charged the hunted Hunters.

"Children of Ares," Percy muttered to himself, releasing another arrow as he did so, his golden eyes flashing as he caught sight of Zoë sprinting towards him, his team's red flag in her hands.

Behind her he could just about make out, Theo, and a couple of others, including Will and Michael running after her, only for to be harried by three of the remaining huntresses, all of whom were protecting their lieutenant as she ran for the river, the Camper's flag in hand.

From an initial observation, he briefly concluded that neither the remaining Hunters, nor the remaining Campers had any arrows left. It would explain why none of the pursers or the pursued were using their bows any more.

Drawing his longbow again, Percy, watched Clarisse rush forwards to intercept, Zoë, a roar leaving her lips as she thrust her spear straight at the lithe, dark haired huntress. Only for Zoë to dodging under the lunge, and bring one of her knives down and into the knee joint of Clarisse's leg.

The blunt side of the blade causing the leg to fold in with brutal force, and Clarisse to let out a growl of pain and stumble, only for Zoë to leap up to her feet again and land a sharp, and surprisingly strong blow to the large girl's temple with the hilt of her knife, the force of blow sending Clarisse crumpling to the floor.

The confrontation had lasted all of five seconds.

"Well damn," Percy muttered, releasing an arrow at Zoë, only for the dark haired huntress to agilely avoid the arrow.

Unfortunately for Zoë though, Clarisse's interception and her having to dodge Percy's arrow had slowed her down enough for, Theo, and a near half dozen other Demigods to catch up to her. A pitched battle quickly forming as the four remaining huntresses fought off the seven Demigod Campers a fierce tactical retreat.

This for Percy was especially useful as in order to fight off the Campers properly, the Hunters had to turn their backs to him. Which left them open for two consecutive arrows to the backs, each shot knocking them forward and onto the blades of the attacking Campers. With, Theo, taking advantage of the chaos and lunging forward with his bronze blade and knocking another one down for a 'kill'.

This in turn left, Zoë, the loan huntress standing. Her skill, speed and the ferocity of her fighting style holding the Campers off, despite their numerical advantage, she even manged to get a pair of kills in whilst doing so. Her swift, unpredictable movements weren't just holding off the Campers though, they also made it all but impossible for, Percy, to land a shot, just in case she moved and he hit an ally instead.

It was a stalemate of sorts, Zoë, couldn't break away, but they couldn't pin her down. Not unless, Percy, threw down his bow and rushed her from behind, boxing her in and engaging her in close combat.

Which, although it should be an easy win in theory, might not be so easy in practice as her rapid movements and experience, and the Campers lack of experience and numbers would make it more chaotic than before. All the Campers would be tripping over each other to get her, like they were doing now, and she would be able to make a break for it in the confusion, especially with Percy not there with a bow just in case she tried that very same thing.

It was an irritating situation to be put in.

"Oi ghost boy, move out of the way!"

But fortunately his side was made up of more than just him and the clumsy group of Campers currently fighting, Zoë.

"It's about time," Percy shot back at Thalia, momentarily glancing back at her as he did so.

The dark haired girl was sprinting towards him a silver flag clutched in her hand, three Campers on her tail, including the pretty green eyed, blonde haired daughter of Demeter, Katie.

Noticeably there were no Hunters chasing after them.

"Shut it, the ones guarding the flag put up a tougher fight than I thought they would!" Thalia shot back, sprinting the last few metres to Percy as she did so.

"How many were there? I thought that there would only be four of them, and by the looks of it you had reinforcements!" Percy called back at her curiously, an arrow nocked, but his bow lowered as he watched Thalia and her group stream past him.

"Oh shut up you," Thalia grumbled, sending him a sideways look, her cheeks a little pink, even as she ran passed him and leapt over the stream and onto the other side.

"Yeah, there were only three in the end," Katie nodded, coming to a stop next to him with the others as they watched, Thalia, win the game, even as, Zoë, broke away from the others and sprinted the last dozen metres to the bank, only to be met with the sight of Thalia already on the other side, the Hunter's flag held up over her head in triumph.

The daughter of Zeus was no doubt smirking as the Lieutenant of the Hunt ran up to her, or at least that is what, Percy, presumed based off of the older, dark haired girl's fierce scowl.

"And I think that that is a win," Percy mused, his bow at his side now, whilst he idly played with the arrow in his other hand.

As he said this the Campers all around him started cheering, those that had been 'killed' and reduced to spectators rushing over with Chiron and a number of Nature Spirits and Satyrs following.

The Hunter's several century long winning streak had been broken.

"Yeah, it was a good game." Katie nodded happily, slinging her arms around the two Demigods with her and grinning to Percy as all around him people started shouting and cheering.

The Hunters though, noticeably looked a bit grumpier and more subdued as they gathered together, some of them sending glares at certain Campers; like the twin sons of Hermes, the Stolls, and surprisingly, Percy.

No doubt though, they were the ones he had 'killed'.

"Ha! Suck Nightshade!" Thalia's voice sounded out over the cheers, even as Percy and his group crossed the river and joined with the rest of them.

"Quiet yourself little girl, thou got lucky, nothing more!" Zoë snapped back, her beautiful features twisting into an irritated scowl. Several of her fellow Hunters, including, Bianca, nodding along behind her.

"Talk about being a bad loser!" Thalia retorted, a smirk on her face as several of the Campers that were now behind her started laughing and jeering.

From where he was standing it looked like the two groups were on the verge of brawling.

Now wouldn't that be fun, Percy thought to himself as Katie and the others merged in with the other Campers, several of them making room as Percy and Katie walked to the front of the group where Thalia, Theo, the Stoll twins, Will and Michael were standing.

Yes, it looked like things were about to kick off, and not in a good way.

Already, Percy, could see Chiron trying to play peacemaker as he forced himself between the two groups, his bearded face holding a stern expression and his hooves stamping loudly onto the ground as he called for order.

"That is enough from both of you, the traditional game of capture the flag is over, now let's draw a line under it!" Chiron called, his arms folded as he looked between the now rebellious looking, Thalia, and the stubborn looking, Zoë.

Seeing this, Percy, folded his own arms, a smile spreading across his face as he watched to see what wold happen next.

Only for him, and everyone else present, to be caught by surprise by what actually did happen next, as, without warning, the mummified body of a skinny, haggard looking woman slowly staggered its way towards the huntresses as everyone else looked on in shock.

The woman's eyes glowed green, and emitting wisps of greenish smoke as it stopped directly in front of the shocked and surprised, Zoë, before without any lead up to it, green smoke began to pour from its mouth as it rasped:

"_Five shall go west to the goddess in chains,_

_One shall be taken in the land without rain,_

_The Bane of Olympus shows the trail,_

_Campers and Hunters combined prevail,_

_The Titan's Curse must one withstand,_

_And one shall be unveiled by a relative's hand"_

A few seconds passed as the mummified woman stopped talking, with the undead looking woman in question collapsing to the ground like a puppet that had its strings cut moments after it finished talking.

As this happened and the silence began to linger, Percy, looked over at, Zoë, the person the undead woman had addressed. Only for him to see that her face had turned pale white as the woman collapsed onto the ground.

Chiron, meanwhile, looking grimmer than ever cantered over to Zoë, his own face looking pale after hear the woman's words.

It made, Percy, very curious about just who in hell the corpse was and why she was able to spout off prophecies like someone who had been blessed by the God of Prophecy, Apollo, himself.

"We will have a meeting in the big house in fifteen minutes with the cabin leaders to discuss the prophecy." Chiron said grimly looking around now at the noticeably more subdued group of Campers and Hunters.

Zoë and Thalia nodded numbly at that, both of them sharing a glance, before without a word they, and the rest of the group broke up. The previous tension now none existent as a couple of Campers gingerly picked up the corpse, even as everyone else started trooping back to camp. A new tension had started to spread over the assembled group. This one worse than the last.

Watching all of this happen, Percy, knew he needed to get into that meeting. The ever curious part of him needed to know just what in Hades was happening!

**( - )**

**AN: And there the chapter is, and it was a big one! Like seriously I think this chapter got away from me, originally I had intended to cover all of this in about four thousand words and then use another thousand to set up the upcoming Quest. Well turns out I got too into writing the capture the flag game and such, but ahh well, it is what it is. That said there are a few details I threw into the chapter, some subtle, some not so subtle, that sets up things for the future.**

**Hopefully you enjoyed the chapter! The next chapter though will set them off on their quest, and with a fancy prophecy to fulfil and all sorts of adventures to follow. Including some interesting additions I will be adding in, thanks to Percy's more expansive knowledge of the mythological world than he had in canon.**

**Should be good fun. Hope you all leave a review and continue to support the story. Please do check out my other stories if you have the time.**

**Thanks for reading, and I'll catch you later.**

**Greed720.**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Hey all, hope you're all well. Here is the next chapter of the story, I hope you all enjoy it. Thanks for all the support so far, I really do appreciate it. It's been mostly positive, though there were some that pointed out way for me to improve on my story, so thanks for that. **

**Thanks for reading so far and I hope you continue to read, review and tell me what you think! As always feel free to PM me if you have any questions or suggestions, I'm usually pretty good at answering.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson.**

**( - )**

**(Last Time)**

_"We will have a meeting in the big house in fifteen minutes with the cabin leaders to discuss the prophecy." Chiron said grimly looking around now at the noticeably more subdued group of Campers and Hunters._

_Zoë and Thalia nodded numbly at that, both of them sharing a glance, before without a word they, and the rest of the group broke up. The previous tension now none existent as a couple of Campers gingerly picked up the corpse, even as everyone else started trooping back to camp. A new tension had started to spread over the assembled group. This one worse than the last._

_Watching all of this happen, Percy, knew he needed to get into that meeting. The ever curious part of him needed to know just what in Hades was happening!_

**( - )**

**Chapter 7**

**( - )**

**(With Percy)**

Looking around the room at the assembled Cabin Leaders, with Zoë in her positon as Lieutenant of the Hunt acting as the head of the Artemis Cabin, Percy couldn't help but shake his head in amusement.

This council of leaders didn't look like much. Most of their number were still; untested, inexperienced and poorly trained kids. He doubted many of them would last even a day out in the real world with monsters after them night and day.

It was brutal out there, outside of the Camps and in the real world; especially with all Demigods giving off a delectable 'scent' that drew monsters from miles around to them.

For all their airs and graces, most of the cabin leaders were still just children, plain and simple. The fact that they had gathered around a Ping-Pong table in the Big House just added extra weight to Percy's judgement, even as he leant against the wall at the side of the rec room; whilst the rest of the gathered Campers, and Zoë, sat around the table.

Due to his experience outside of Camp, and his overall unwillingness to just go back to the Hermes Cabin and wait to be told what happened in the meeting, he had been allowed into the room and to take part in the discussion over the recently made prophecy.

Unfortunately though, as the 'son' of a minor goddess he was not allowed a place at the table, instead he, like the rest of the children of the minor gods, was relegated to the Hermes Cabin's and thus came under their authority.

It kind of pissed him off, especially as the Stoll twins were the leaders of the Hermes Cabin. Both of the blonde haired, blue eyed teens were idiots, plain and simple. The two of them were more concerned with causing trouble and joking around than actually engaging with the topic of the meeting, the prophecy.

Their actions, and the puffed up, peacock like behaviour of a large proportion of the other Cabin Leaders as they preened and bragged, was enough to give him homicidal thoughts.

He didn't give a fuck that the children of Ares were 'the toughest in the camp and the most capable of completing the quest'.

Nor did he care about makeup and beauty tips, which is what the temporary head of the Aphrodite Cabin, Drew Tanaka, was talking about with the head of the Demeter Cabin, Katie.

Seriously, he was quickly beginning to understand why the Hunters had seemed so pissed off about coming here.

Sure when there was not much going on, it was nice to kick back and relax. He did it too. Or at least when he was not on a job, and had stopped off at a safe and secure place. He enjoyed goofing off; watching TV, writing up his adventures and trolling people on the internet. It was a good way to let off some steam after a hard fight or a tricky mission. It was why he had enjoyed playing the capture the flag game so much.

When things got serious though, that is when he got serious too.

The world was already a dangerous enough place, the last thing you needed was to be messing about when planning a mission.

That was a sure-fire way to get yourself killed.

Drumming the fingers of his right hand on his left arm, Percy, still wearing his armour, let out an audible sigh as he continued to lean against the wall, his arms crossed as he waited for the meeting to start; despite them having all been gathered in the room for a couple of minutes already at this point.

"Right, that is enough! Quiet! Everyone quiet down!" Chiron eventually shouted, calling for order as the assembled Cabin Leaders, along with Zoë and a couple her Hunters, and Percy either sat around the Ping-Pong table, or in case of Percy and the extra Hunters stood around the wall watching.

"The prophecy was quite clear with its wording, as too was the person the prophecy was given too. The quest is Zoë's and she will be the one to lead it, and she must bring with her four others." Chiron began, looking around at the gathered Demigods as he did so; his gaze flicking over in Percy's direction for a few moment, before locking onto the tiara wearing huntresses.

The beautiful, dark haired girl in question nodding at his words, her dark eyes locking with Chiron's, even as her full lips became a thin line.

She was tense, and worried, that much Percy could tell with a glance. The girl, despite being several centuries old, at least, was not good at hiding her feelings, or at least not as good as she thought she was.

Unfolding his arms, Percy shifted slightly against the wall. Like Chiron had just said, the prophecy had been given to Zoë, and going off of its content it could be inferred that the goddess in chains was likely Artemis.

Honestly, he wasn't surprised Zoë and the other Hunters were looking so tense, Artemis was the source of their power. If she was killed and sent to Tartarus to reform, then that meant that the Hunters would lose their Blessing, or at least a large portion of their power, at least until Artemis reformed.

To be so reliant on their patron, it must have been a bitter pill to swallow.

Most of the Hunters may have started off as Demigods, or in some cases Nature Spirits, but not all of them had. This of course meant that some of their number were entirely reliant entirely on Artemis's Blessing for their strength, agility and longevity. As for those that were already Demigods before they took the Blessing, they all still got a power boost from Artemis's power, and increased longevity/ pseudo immortality too.

Artemis to the Hunters, must be their proverbial golden goose, without her they were shadows of their former selves. They would just be average run of the Demigods, Nature Spirits, and in some case, just mortals. They would not be the powerful fighting force they were reputed to be without their goddess.

So yes, with that in mind, he really wasn't surprised they were so worried about her wellbeing. If it had been that was so reliant on Artemis for his strength, then he would have been frantic with worry by now.

A weak Demigod did not survive long outside of the Camps.

"The Hunters are more than capable of finding our lady, there is nothing that needs to be discussed. This meeting is nothing but a waste of our time, a distraction!" Phoebe spoke up bluntly, dragging Percy's attention back to the matter at hand as the muscly Hunter walked up to the table and slammed her hand onto it for emphasis, her blue eyes fixed on unerringly Chiron, as if she were daring the legendary trainer of heroes to contradict her.

Which is exactly what the centaur in question did, as Chiron simply shook his head calmly, "The prophecy stated the quest must be a combination of Hunters and Campers. I highly doubt any of you would want to fail this mission because you refused to listen to the words of the oracle…"

Percy's lip twitched upwards as Chiron said this, his dark eyes fixed gleefully on the Hunters as he saw the flashes of distaste and worry on their faces. The Hunters were now stuck between accepting help form the Campers that they hated so much. Or potentially failing in their mission to save their goddess.

He shouldn't be so amused, but he was. Most of the Hunters, or at least from what he had seen of them thus far, were either; rude, aggressive, bigoted, perpetually pissed off or all of the above. Suffice to say most of them weren't very nice, or pleasant, people, and a lot of them seemed to harbour a grudge against men, for the simple fact that they were men and thus the 'inferior' gender.

Phoebe, upon hearing Chiron's words, seemed to swell up her mouth opening as she looked to be on the verge of retorting angrily to the ancient centaur calm statement.

However before she could, Zoë raised her hand and cut her off, "That's enough Phoebe, Chiron is right. With that in mind, I will take Phoebe, Bianca, and Olivia, with me on the quest, and Thalia too, as a representative of Camp Half Blood, if she is willing to come of course?" Zoë's dark eyes flicked over to the surprised looking daughter of Zeus as she finished speaking.

From the side of the room, Percy's eyes widened in imperceptibly as he heard who Zoë wanted to take on the quest with her. Phoebe and that Olivia, those two weren't surprising, they had probably been in the Hunt with Zoë for years. Nor was Thalia a bad pick either, the girl was strong and her gender made it less likely for there to be friction between her and the other quest members. Bianca though, a complete newbie to the divine world, that one was a surprise.

But still, it was one that Percy would happily take advantage of if he had the chance.

With that thought in mind he pushed himself off of the wall. "Forgive me for speaking up, but surely the line; '_Campers and Hunters combined prevail,_' means that an equal number of Campers or Hunters. Or at least as equal as is possible, as in 'Campers' meaning more than one; would be the best choice for the quest?"

"And what do you suggest?" Zoë shot back, her tone hard but not quite aggressive; despite Phoebe and the other girl, Olivia, glaring at him from behind their Lieutenants back. Both of looking annoyed at his sudden interference.

"I suggest a two Camper and three Hunter split, with you in charge of course." Percy said lightly, stepping forwards as he did so, the attention of the entire room now on him.

"You have no seat at this table, boy. Hold your tongue!" Olivia growled, Bianca and Phoebe sending her sideways look as she did so. Apparently he wasn't the only one that clocked onto the girl's anger, or onto the irony of the girl's statement considering she too didn't have a seat at the table.

"Well neither do you," Percy replied lightly, before continuing, cutting anyone else off before they could interrupt him. "That said though I am still here to represent my parent. Lady Melinoe might not be a vaunted Olympian, but she is still a goddess all the same, a higher being, and as such her child, i.e. me, have just as much a right to be here and be represented as all of you!"

A couple of the cabin counsellors shifted awkwardly as they heard his words, and Chiron noticeably looked away, a flash of guilt passing across his face.

Mr D however, the portly, red faced God of Wine, Dionysus, however just continued to look bored. The god in question instead read a magazine about Argentinian wineries, as opposed to tuning into the discussion; his purple eyes flicking back and forth boredly as he didn't react at all to Percy's poorly veiled criticisms.

"So with that in mind, I suggest that you take Phoebe, Thalia, Bianca and myself on the quest." Percy said simply, a smile on his face as he saw the looks of outrage on the Hunters' faces, the amusement on Thalia's and the surprise on Theo and the rest of the Counsellor's faces. The rest of the cabin leaders all noticeably staying silent in the discussion thus far.

"I think not, _scavenger._" Zoë retorted after a few moments of silence, her tone sharper than before and her lip curling up slightly in distaste as she looked at him. "What could someone like you possibly add to our party?"

"Well," Percy said easily, walking over to the table now; a smile on his face at the challenge in the huntress's words. "I'm a fighter, I don't think it would be too arrogant to say that I am probably one of the best in the Camp at the moment. I have extensive knowledge of the Divine World and experience fighting a whole assortment of monsters. Oh, and like you said, I'm a scavenger. I'm a born survivor. I think I would be quite a useful asset on the quest."

Zoë scowled at this, but didn't immediately refute his claims.

"I think it's a good idea, after me Percy is probably the toughest in the Camp, well, either him or Theo." Thalia piped up, a smirk on her face as she saw Percy send her an amused look.

"Didn't he beat you?" Michael, the head of the Athena Cabin asked.

"He got lucky," Thalia sniffed, even as couple of the other counsellors snorted. Percy however continued to watch her in amused curiousity. "But back on point, he is right; three Hunters and two Campers is a good split. So unless Theo wants to go…?"

"Erm, no, no thanks…" Theo said quickly, waving his hands in front of him. "I don't know how much help I can be. I mean I can go if needed, but well, I'm not sure what I can add. I didn't do all that much, I mean if Grover, Clarisse and… Annabeth… hadn't been there; Thalia wouldn't be with us and the camp would be unprotected."

Percy looked over at the younger Jackson curiously. The boy had little in the way of confidence. Sure he was good enough with a blade, and had quite a bit of power behind him, but if he lacked the will to use it… Well, then in Percy's opinion he was wasting his potential.

The kid needed to grow a backbone. Where was his attitude, the same attitude he had had when Percy had first met him, back when his friend, Annabeth, had gone and gotten herself killed.

Not that he was about to make an issue of it now though, not when the kid's nervousness was working to his advantage. "Well I would be happy to come."

Zoë frowned at this, but again didn't reply immediately, instead she turned to look at Percy, her expression hard as her dark, ageless eyes met his own dark, confident, youthful eyes.

"I can come too!" Grover, the Satyr boy from before suddenly piped up.

"No," Percy replied bluntly, not even looking at the goat boy as he did so. "We need to move fast, and we all need to be able to fight. You're not a fighter…, Grover isn't it? You would only slow the quest down, and endanger the rest of the group."

It was harsh, but true. On top of which Percy couldn't allow this chance to slip through is grasp, not if he wanted to fulfil Hades' mission without bringing down the wrath of the Hunt, the Olympus and Camp Half Blood down on his head.

"Yeah, but I can track things!" Grover shot back, his brow furrowing as he scowled up at Percy.

"So can I, and so can the Hunters." Percy shut him down, his gaze still on Zoë. "Look I'm not going to tell you what to decide. But I will say that it would make finding and rescuing Artemis a lot easier and a lot faster, if you brought me along."

Zoë's inscrutable expression didn't change at this, instead her dark eyes continued to bore into Percy's equally dark eyes.

"Zoë, come on, you can't seriously be considering this?" Olivia spoke up next, a look of shock on her face as she too noticed that her Lieutenant hadn't instantly shot Percy down like she no doubt hoped she would do.

"You heard what I had to say." Thalia chipped in. "Look, I don't like you, Zoë, and you don't like me. But all the same I am happy to come with you and help save your goddess. But I would suggest bringing Percy along too. Like he and I have said, he is the best choice out of the current selection of Campers, no offence Grover, and well the rest of you…"

"Nah it's cool," Michael said waving the apology away. "He was pretty badass in the capture the flag game."

"Yeah, he took out half of the Hunters' team from what I heard." Travis Stoll grinned.

"Which gave us the chance to crush the other half." Connor Stoll tagged on, also grinning, even as; Bianca, Phoebe and Olivia sent him and his brother sour looks.

"He's alright with a bow," Will Solace allowed, grudgingly.

"He'd be useful on the quest." Katie nodded, her green eyes flicking over to Percy as she sent him a sunny smile.

"Whatever," Drew muttered, not even looking up as she instead continued to check her long, painted fingernails for any imperfections.

"I reckon I could take him," Clarisse said bluntly, a slight frown on her face as she eyed Percy. "But I don't really want to spend any more time with you Hunters then I have to, so he is probably the next best thing."

Percy assumed that that was the best he was going to get from the abrasive daughter of Ares. Still he couldn't help but smile as he was given the support of most of the Cabin Leaders, though again he could see Grover scowling at him. For some reason he goat boy really wanted to go on that quest.

"He's good," Theo, the son of Poseidon, nodded. After which he looked to Thalia.

"Well you heard them, Zoë," Thalia smirked, not looking at Theo as she instead continued to watch Zoë.

"Zoë?" Olivia hissed.

"Fine, I agree." Zoë finally said, her gaze still on Percy. "With your skillset and experience you'll be useful."

"But he's a male though." Olivia said.

"Yes he is a male, and he is a scavenger too. But he is also competent, skilled in battle, and will be useful. That, and Lady Artemis's safety, is more important than his gender." Zoë replied, finally tearing her gaze away from Percy as she instead looked over at Olivia. "But I do understand your reservations and distaste of having him along, and I do agree in part with some of them. But still, Lady Artemis's safety is the most important thing. Then can be no room for any friction. As such the group going with me will consist of Phoebe, Bianca, Thalia and Perseus."

Olivia looked stunned.

Grover looked heartbroken.

Percy however merely smiled.

"Then we are agreed, and the group heading on the quest has been decided." Chiron said with a nod, his gaze roving over the assembled group quieting any objections, before his eyes came to rest on Percy. The brown orbs narrowing minutely as he saw the slight smile on the son of Melinoe's face. "You leave at first light. Prepare yourselves for the quest ahead, and get a good night's sleep. I have a feeling that you'll need it."

As he said this they all nodded, even the Hunters. The group of girls grudgingly accepting that setting out in the dark when they were ill prepared was not the most sensible course of action.

**( - )**

**(Sometime Later)**

Not long after Chiron's proclamation, the meeting between the Campers and Hunters quickly broke up, both groups streaming away from the Big House on mass.

Most of the Campers either milling around talking to one another on their way back to their cabins. Or, heading back to their respective cabins straight away so they could to speak with their siblings and cabin mates within, and thus enlighten them on everything that had taken place in the meeting.

The Hunters however did not stop to talk, instead all four of them headed straight to Artemis's Cabin, all of them quickly filing in one after the other, and then slamming the door to their cabin behind them. No doubt they too would be discussing everything that had happened, and what would be happening as far as the quest was involved.

Honestly at that thought, Percy couldn't help but feel a little sorry for, Zoë. She would no doubt have a hard time explaining why she was taking him, _a boy_, on the quest, and only travelling with four others, as opposed to leading the entire Hunt out of Camp straight away.

It was probably likely, that many of them would believe that close to three score Hunters would be far more effective at tracking down and saving their goddess; then a group of five, especially a group of five that had two Campers in it, one of whom was a boy!

Yes, she was probably in for a difficult night. No doubt she would have to pull rank and smack more than a few of the bolder, or bolshie naysayers down before the night was over.

Still, that was her problem and not his.

Shaking his head at that, Percy continued to slowly amble his way down from the Big House, and towards the nearby Hermes Cabin. The cabin in question standing out from the rest due to the simplicity and cheapness of its design.

"Hey, Percy!" Thalia called out from behind him, the dark haired Demigodess jogging to catch up with him, both Theo and Grover noticeably following after her.

"Hey Thalia, what's up?" Percy replied brusquely, smiling at Thalia for a moment; his gaze then panning over to the other two. Theo looking nervous and awkward, as per usual. Whilst Grover, the gangly, ginger haired satyr, looked angry.

"Why did you insist on going on the quest like that?!" Grover cut in, speaking over Thalia as he instead trotted over to Percy, his brow furrowed and his blue eyes full of anger.

"Because it was for the best." Percy replied easily, not all that concerned with the satyr's anger. He didn't know why the other teen was so dead set on going on the quest, but he was not about to back down on his own desire to go for his sake.

"I never thought of you as the type to be so generous." Thalia said, placing her hand on Grover before he did something he would regret. "I thought you were a survivor, Percy?"

"And I am," Percy replied easily, looking between the trio curiously as he did so. "There is more going on here than just a missing goddess, you do realise that, don't you? The enemy's forces are already on the move, and they're rapidly gathering in strength. Artemis's capture, it is just their first gambit!"

"You're talking about the Titans aren't you?" Theo spoke up, deliberately not saying the name of their leader; after all in the Divine World names had power. "The ones Luke betrayed the Camp for!"

"Theo!" Thalia said sharply, her electric blue eyes flicking over to the son of Poseidon as she did so, making him flinch, before they then returned to Percy.

"Luke?" Percy asked, his brow furrowing. "Luke Castellan, I take it? I That's a name I've heard before."

"Yeah," Thalia said, her normally confident voice softer now, and her expression noticeably downcast. "He was a friend, back, well back before I reached the Camp. Things, well things happened and he betrayed the Camp and went to join, him."

"Yes, so I've heard. They've been recruiting you know, and not just monsters, but Demigods too." Percy warned, his eyes narrowing now. He had heard of Luke, his betrayal and his allegiance to Kronos was well-known, as too were his attempts to suborn other Greek Demigods.

That said though, from what he had heard, Luke hadn't made any attempts to recruit the Roman Demigods, or the Amazons, or any of the Demigods from the other Pantheons, or at least not yet. He could be wrong though, his sources and contacts were not always the most reliable. Many of them were easily bought.

"We know, quite a few Campers, nearly a dozen have gone missing or didn't return to Camp over summer. Some might have died, sure, but most of them have probably joined 'him'." Thalia said darkly, meeting Percy's gaze again, her burning hot anger now obvious for him to see. It seemed Thalia hated this Luke, kid. She seemed far angrier and hurt than she probably should be. "Did he try and recruit you?"

"Not directly, but I heard a rumour, and some contacts approached me with the offer of joining up for 'the cause'." Percy replied dryly, his lips quirking upwards in amusement at the thought of selling his services for 'a cause'. He didn't do anything for free, not unless it benefitted him in other ways. "I sent them packing of course. I mean sure, things are shit now and the Olympians are pretty useless. But things under the Titans would be so much worse! The gods, at least in my opinion, are a lesser of two evils."

"That's one way of putting it." Thalia replied, both relief and amusement tinging her words now. The dark haired girl even managed a smile, her expression less downcast now.

"So you weren't tempted at all?" Theo asked curiously. "Not even with your mother being Melinoe, and Luke offering an opportunity for minor gods and their children to win themselves more prestige and acclaim than they currently get. From what I've heard, that's how he has been recruiting most of the children of the minor gods and the unclaimed…"

"I am my own person." Percy shrugged, "I succeed or fail on my own! I don't need any petty son of Hermes with daddy issues preaching to me about what I should and should not be doing, and thinking! Besides, I've never really been all that keen on 'causes'."

"Then why go on the quest then? In fact why stay at Camp Half Blood at all if you don't' want to be a part of something bigger then yourself?" Grover asked bitterly.

"Because I like the status quo." Percy lied, his gaze flicking back to the irritating satyr. The goat boy's attitude was beginning to get on his nerves. "As for why I'm here; well it's only temporary, don't worry…"

"Wait, does that mean that you'll be leaving?" Theo asked in confusion.

"Afraid so, once the quest is done I'll head off again. I'm not suited for staying in one place for a long time, I prefer travelling and moving about." Percy shrugged. "If I stay here I'll get very bored, very quickly, and my skills will stagnate!"

"Really, but it's dangerous out there. You'd be safer if you stay at Camp!" Thalia said, a hint worry in her voice, and disappointment on her face as she looked at him.

"True, but that's why I like it." Percy shot back, even as he started walking again. "There's a big world out there beyond the borders of Camp Half Blood, Thalia. Don't you think it would be a waste to not see as much of it as you can?"

"I suppose," Thalia said, pensively from behind him.

"But anyway, we've an early start tomorrow. We're supposed to be meeting Zoë and her minions at the Camp entrance at dawn." Percy cut it, changing the topic of the conversation before they pushed it too far. He didn't particularly want to get to know any of these people, or get attached. Attachments were just a weakness.

"Right," Thalia nodded quietly, her expression still slightly sad as he looked back at her.

"Yeah you two should probably get some sleep." Theo added on obliviously, before he paused. "It's going to be pretty grim once you've gone, especially with most of the Hunters staying here."

"They're not that bad." Grover shot back, his attention shifting from Percy to Theo now.

"You only say that because you fancy, Lady Artemis!" Thalia retorted, her mood picking up slightly as she saw the red haired satyr flush.

'So that's why he wanted to go on the quest' Percy mused to himself. 'Poor guy doesn't stand a chance.'

"No! I don't fancy her or anything, I just… well she's just so in tune with nature. It's hard not to be drawn to her." Grover shouted weakly, waving his hands in front of him in denial.

Smiling slightly at this, Percy began to split off from the other three, even as Thalia and Theo closed in on the now red faced satyr and started teasing him remorselessly about his 'crush'.

"See you in the morning, Thalia!" Percy called, waving over his shoulder to the daughter of Zeus as he headed off in the direction of the cabins.

"Yeah, in the morning!" Thalia shouted after him.

Not looking around, Percy continued heading down the hill and towards the Hermes Cabin. Only for him to then walk passed it, and then into the woods. Pulling a gleaming drachma out of his pocket as he did so, with him absentmindedly rolling the coin along his knuckles as he entered the forest and tried to find a bit of mist.

He had a call to make, and some arrangements to put in place for the upcoming quest.

**( - )**

**AN: And so I've decided to end this chapter here. There was not much action, and quite a lot of talking but for the sake of development it needed to be done. That said the next chapter will involve the quest and the changes that will occur, especially now the questers have changed slightly and some of them now have different intentions. **

**Either way it should be fun. I have quite a few ideas for what I want to happen, and hopefully most of those pan out. I have about twenty chapter outlined, and planned out at the moment and the main plot points finalised, but despite that the proof is in the pudding as they say. It'll only be once I write it that I discover whether my ideas work.**

**But yes, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed the chapter. **

**Catch you next time, and please do check out my other stories if you have the time. There are a lot, too many in fact.**

**Greed720.**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: So it's been a while hasn't it. Still I'm back now, and I have a fresh update for you, or at least for those of you that are still following this story. **

**That said I'll admit that this chapter was a difficult one for me to write. Whether that is because it's been so long since the last update, and I am out of the swing of things, and desperately in need of re-familiarising myself with the source material. Or whether it was because this was a particularly annoying chapter to write, I'm not sure.**

**Either way though I finished it and now have a publishable version for your perusal and judgement. I hope you enjoy the chapter and leave a review. **

**If you have any question feel free to PM me. For the moment though I need to try and find my notes in this story, as aside from my outline for this chapter and the next, I've not got a clue where they are, and only have a vague idea of where I wanted this story to go.**

**Thanks for reading. Also please do check out my other stories if you have the chance, I have a load of Percy Jackson crossovers on my profile of varying length and quality.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson. **

** ( - ) **

**(Last Time)**

_"See you in the morning, Thalia!" Percy called, waving over his shoulder to the daughter of Zeus as he headed off in the direction of the cabins._

_"Yeah, in the morning!" Thalia shouted after him._

_Not looking around, Percy continued heading down the hill and towards the Hermes Cabin. Only for him to then walk passed it, and then into the woods. Pulling a gleaming drachma out of his pocket as he did so, with him absentmindedly rolling the coin along his knuckles as he entered the forest and tried to find a bit of mist._

_He had a call to make, and some arrangements to put in place for the upcoming quest._

**( - )**

**Chapter 8**

**( - )**

**(With Percy)**

There was only one word that could properly describe how Percy Jackson was feeling right now, and that was uncomfortable.

Currently the Demigod in question was stuck in the Camp Half Blood van with four other people, only one of whom seemed to be complete accepting of his presence, and that was Thalia.

To compound the situation, Zoë and Thalia were both sat in the front, with Zoë driving and Thalia riding shotgun in the passenger seat, her back to him.

Percy meanwhile had been relegated to the back of the van, which was not in itself too bad. Nor was it the reason why he was feeling so uncomfortable.

No, the reason for that was because he was riding bitch. Or rather he was stuck in the middle seat, tightly crammed in between the two Hunters, Phoebe who was currently glaring daggers at him, as if his mere presence was offending her, and Bianca who looked just as uncomfortable and awkward as him as the van bombed down the road, headed for Washington.

For all that this vehicle was a van, it wasn't a particularly roomy one. The fact that he could feel his shoulders rubbing against theirs every time the van jostled him was evidence enough of that. Which of course led to him being accused of 'manspreading' by Phoebe, who seemed to take personal offence every time he accidentally made physical contact with either her or Bianca.

Suffice to say the journey to the capital was for the most part spent in silence, especially after Percy had quite bluntly told Phoebe; 'that she needed to get laid',' when she suggested that he sit in the back of the van with the weapons and supplies.

Unsurprisingly she didn't take the comment particularly well. Not that that bothered him though, after all he could have been a lot crueler and cruder, and probably would have been were he not aware of the fact that they were on a quest, and thus needed to get along for at least the next few days.

Of the lot of them, Thalia was the only one who tried to make conversation after that awkward conversation. Not that she had much success as her attempts r small talk died mere moments after they began.

Looking around, it was quite clear to Percy that as far as teams went, this one was dysfunctional.

Thalia and Zoë both disliked one another, just as Phoebe and Thalia disliked one another, though perhaps with a bit less animosity that the former.

Bianca was little more than a wallflower, and for the most part just stayed quiet. Whether this was because she was just socially awkward though, as she hadn't been a member of the Hunt long enough to be indoctrinated into their way of thinking, or because she was still mourning her brother's death, Percy didn't know.

What he did know however was that both Zoë and Phoebe resented his presence, though again; whether that was due to their personal dislike of him, their disdain of his scavenging life style, or his gender he wasn't sure.

A part of him though strongly suspected it was all of the above.

That said, fortunately they at least grudgingly accepted him being a member of the questing party, if only because he was an undeniably useful asset.

Shifting slightly in his seat and ignoring the looks of disdain he received from Phoebe, Percy decided to break the ongoing silence. "So, since we're already nearly there, can I just ask something? Why of all places are we going to Washington D.C.?"

It was a pertinent enough question, after all nothing in the prophecy for the quest had hinted that they should go to Washington, or at least nothing that he, as a novice to understanding prophecies, had picked up.

"For reasons." Replied Zoë, 'helpfully', not even looking back at him as she spoke.

"Ah yes, reasons…" Percy drawled back, rolling his eyes, even as he saw Thalia glance back at him in the mirror, her lip's quirking upwards in amusement for a moment at his tone.

"Be quiet_ scavenger_, you're not the leader of this Quest, Zoë is." Phoebe shot back, her tone blunt.

Glancing sideways at the broad-shouldered, blue eyed Demigoddess, Percy had to refrain from rolling his eyes at her attitude. She was not the worst of the Hunters, not by a long shot, but even so the way she spoke to him and looked down on him was starting to grate.

"Yes, but as a member of the Quest I reckon I can speak my mind." Percy returned, his dark eyes colder than normal as he gave her a sideways glance before looking back up front again. "The Prophecy said to go west, so let's go further west. I have some contacts based in California, they might know if something supernatural is going off over that way."

"Who do you know in California?" Thalia spoke up curiously, speaking up before either Zoë or Phoebe could inevitably shoot him down.

"Do you think that Camp Half Blood is the only place in the world that Demigods congregate?" Percy shrugged, not missing how Zoë's shoulders had stiffened up slightly, almost unnoticeably, the moment he mentioned going further west.

"Wait, what! Really, there are other places out there that are safe for Demigods?" Thalia asked in interest.

As Thalia asked this question, Phoebe and Zoë, Percy noticed with delight, both started looking as uncomfortable as he had just felt. With Bianca looking away from the window she had steadfastly been staring out of for the last few hours, to instead look at him now, curiosity burning in her dark eyes.

"That's enough Perseus," Zoë finally spoke up, glancing back at him for a moment as she did so. Her dark eyes full of warning. "We are nearly here so everyone should start preparing themselves. This was the place Lady Artemis told me she was headed to the last time I saw her, so it'll be the first place we should look to try and pick up her trail from."

"Okay, if you say so." Percy sighed sitting back slightly in his seat now, content in the information he had just been given, even if he thought the plan was a foolish one.

Not that he was about to say that, or push for a different, better, plan, after all why should he? He was not invested in rescuing Artemis, she wasn't his meal ticket to immortality like she was for Phoebe, Zoë and Bianca, nor was he a 'do-gooder' like Thalia who would willingly come on a dangerous Quest with people she disliked, just because it was the right thing to do.

No, he was here for one reason, and that reason was currently sitting stiffly next to him, once again staring out of the window. Bianca Di Angelo, Hade's daughter, and the person that he needed to make disappear without drawing any suspicion onto himself.

"Hey wait, I want to know what you just meant Percy?" Thalia piped up, not dropping the subject like Zoë probably wanted her too. "You said there were other place where Demigods gathered, what did you mean? This is important Percy, those places could be targeted by Luke and his allies."

Percy raised an eyebrow at that, and was about to reply with the honest truth.

However before he could he felt a sharp elbow dig into his ribs, both Phoebe and Zoë's eyes now boring into him expectantly.

Holding back a smile, Percy pondered for a moment on what he should say next.

He could tell the truth, and break the century's old silence on the existence of the two different Demigod Camps, the Greek Camp, Camp Half Blood, and Roman Camp, Camp Jupiter.

Both of which he knew had been separated and hidden from one another for the simple fact that neither side could play nice with the other. With them instead fighting every chance they got, all because of something that happened in Ancient Greece thousands of years ago.

The American Civil War was the last, and most recent, example of this ongoing spat.

Of course there was more to it that just revealing the other Demigod Camp, right at this moment Percy could reveal to Thalia, and thus consequently to the rest of the Camp once she got back, other well kept secrets. Such as the Amazons, and the existence of Demigods from other Pantheons.

Suffice to say the part of Percy that revelled in chaos wanted to drop this bombshell and then hopefully see what came of it. He was truly curious how the Greeks would react to the revelation of just how much their parents and Chiron was hiding from them.

Fortunately however the more prudent side of him was also present, the side of him that realised that alienating the Hunters at this pivotal moment, and pissing the Olympians off, was probably not the wisest of moves.

"I doubt it, Thalia." Percy finally said, an easy smile spreading across his face. "The Demigods I'm talking about are adults, alumni of Camp Half Blood that managed to make it, well, to adulthood. I mean don't get me wrong, there aren't a huge amount of them out there, but the few that do exist know the dangers of this world, and are more than happy to help out their fellow Demigods when they get the chance."

It was a cop out, but a believable one. Partly due to the fact that what he had just spoken was the truth.

There were in fact adult Demigods out there that helped out their juniors, the ones at the Demigod settlements, Waypoint and New Rome, came to mind.

"Oh, well still, they should be warned all the same." Thalia said, oblivious to the way both Zoë and Phoebe seemed to relax.

"They're well aware of what's going on Thalia, that's why I suggested that I contact them to find out whether they know even more than us." Percy replied with a shrug.

"It's a possibility," Zoë cut in, her eyes back on the road. "But for now we will go to Lady Artemis's last known location, and try to follow her trail from there. If we are unable to so though," Zoë then continued, before pausing a look of distaste passing across her face for a moment. "Then we'll alert Chiron to the van's location and then take a fast train further west, to California."

Hearing the finality in her voice as she laid out her plan, Percy nodded and sat back in his seat As Phoebe had said, she was the leader and so it was up to her what they did. That said he did at least appreciate her taking his suggestion on board, even if she had relegated it to a 'plan B'.

Either way, what she ended up choosing and where she ended up taking them didn't really matter in the long run, or at least to Percy. After all no matter what was decided he would just continue playing along, watching and waiting for the perfect time to make his move.

With that thought in mind, he looked out of the window and remaining quiet, even as they drove through the snowy streets of Washington D.C., before eventually pulling into the Smithsonian Museum's car park.

**( - )**

Parking up a few moments later the five of them quickly got out of the van, much to the relief of the three that had been crammed into the back.

All of them stretching and grumbling as they rejoiced in once again being able to freely move after more than five hours of being confined the back of the van as it trundled down from New York to Washington.

Rolling his neck, Percy was the first of the assembled group to make a move as he threw open the back doors of the van and started gearing up.

With him firstly pulling on and buckling up his Stygian Iron cuirass, and then his Celestial Bronze gauntlets, over the top of which he then pulled on a thick, padded parka coat, complete with a fur lined hood. After which, to then finish things off he slung his satchel over his shoulders.

With that done, Percy then rootled about further back in the van and before stepping back several bound up, bundles of arrows in his hand arms, each of which he put into his internally expanded satchel, even as the others piled in after him, pulling out their own weapons and gear as they did so.

"Hey, I've been meaning to ask something Percy." Thalia suddenly spoke up, even as she strapped on her own Celestial Bronze breastplate, turning away from where Zoë, Phoebe and Bianca were still unloading their supplies and equipment, as she instead looked over at him.

"Ok," Percy hummed, cocking an eyebrow as he turned to look at the dark haired daughter of Zeus.

"What's with the handbag?" Thalia continued, an impish smile playing across her pink lips as she met Percy's dark eyes for a moment, before she then glanced down at the bag at his hip.

"It's a satchel." Percy deadpanned, ignoring the snort of laughter from Phoebe as she and her fellow Hunters locked up the van and approached. "Indiana Jones has one."

"Indiana who?" Bianca asked, intruding into the conversation now, her dark eyes flicking curiously between Percy and Thalia.

Percy sent her a sideways look, and sighed. "A tomb raiding, action hero from a film series."

"Oh, is this a new film?" Bianca asked curiously.

"Oh come on you must've heard of it Bianca, it's about thirty odd years old." Thalia said, rolling her eyes now, even as Bianca gave the other two nonplussed Hunters a confused look. "But that wasn't what I meant. What I actually was asking is what is up with your 'satchel'; how did you fit all of that stuff in it, is it enchanted or something?"

"Yeah, it is. I got given it by Mer-Hermes a year or so ago for services rendered." Percy shrugged, almost slipping up on the name before he caught himself at the last moment. "It's been pretty handy too. It's internally expanded on the inside, and is weightless. Pretty much perfect for a nomad like me."

Cocking an eyebrow at that, Thalia then glanced down at the rucksack at her feet.

"That does sound useful." She mused for a moment, before she promptly picked up her bag and threw it to the surprised Percy. "Could you stick my bag in your 'satchel' then? I mean it would save me the trouble of carrying it, and since it's enchanted to be weightless it won't bother you much either."

"This doesn't seem like a request." Percy replied bemusedly, glancing down at the bag in his hand and then up at the grinning Thalia, before with a sigh he acceded to her harmless demand.

"Thanks." Thalia grinned, watching him for a moment as he rootled about in his bag, arranging things so that her rucksack was at the bottom of the bag with a number of other superfluous trophies, bits of equipment and items. Whilst the more useful things, like his sheathes of arrows, spare weapons and bags of Ambrosia, and bottles of Nectar were at the top.

"Any of you three want to get in on this?" Percy asked diplomatically, glancing up at the three Hunter's now.

Two of whom scowled. "We'll carry our own burden, _scavenger_."

Whilst Bianca looked to be on the verge of asking him to take her things too, before she stopped and stayed quiet after hearing Phoebe's answer.

"Ok rude, but whatever. Suit yourselves." Said Percy, with a roll of his eyes, even as he turned away, buckling up his bag as he did so.

It seemed that prolonged contact with him was rubbing her the girl the wrong way. He remembered her being a bit of a bitch before they set off, but not this much.

Still, Percy mused, it didn't really matter. He wasn't here to make friends, and since he was already planning to fuck over the Hunters. Well, their bad attitudes just made it that much easier for him to go through with it.

"Enough talking. If everyone is ready, then let us go." Zoë suddenly said, striding forwards now, her strung bow on her back and an intense look marring her beautiful features as she strode passed Percy and towards the museum's entrance. "I think it would be best if we split up to cover more ground." She then continued, looking between the other four party members as she did so.

Percy cocked an eyebrow at that, but still nodded. "Sounds good, if you four split up into two pairs, then I'll head off on my own."

"No, that might not be safe. We don't know what might be lurking around here, if this was where Artemis was captured, then the thing that captured her might still be around, and well if it is strong enough to take on a god then a lone Demigod wouldn't stand a chance of getting away. Why don't you and I go one way, Percy, and those three got the other?" Thalia spoke up before anyone else could outlining her reasoning quite promptly. Even if she did skip over the fact that two Demigods likely had as much chance as one if they were indeed confronted with the same thing that captured the Goddess of the Hunt.

"That plan is acceptable." Zoë nodded, her eyes flicking to her fellow Hunter's for a moment before with a single gesture the three of them headed into the museum.

Seeing this Percy had to hold back a curse.

Ideally, he had been hoping that they would have all split up, with Phoebe and Thalia going one way and Bianca and Zoë another, or some other combination between the four girls. Whilst he Percy, the only guy in the group would have been sent off on his own.

That for him would have been the optimal situation. It would have split up the group, and given him the freedom he required to fulfil his mission.

Only now that chance was ruined.

"Well come on then," Thalia said, knocking Percy's shoulder with her own as she passed. "And you're welcome by the way. If it wasn't for me speaking up back there, then you know Zoë would have sent you off on your own."

"Right," Muttered Percy, nodded his head as he followed after the dark haired girl. "Thanks."

**( - )**

**(A few minutes later)**

A few minutes later found both Thalia and Percy walking through the Museum of Natural History. Both of them trying to look like casual, normal visitors to the museum as they looked around. Or at least as causal as two teenagers could when they were armed to the teeth and wearing armour beneath their buttoned up coats.

Though admittedly with Thalia using her moderate talent for manipulating the Mist to aid them in their task, it made things much easier.

Both of them walking passed the different exhibits, barely glancing at what was in the display cases as they instead kept looking around at anything and everything they could see.

Both of them searching for anything suspicious, or anything that might indicate that Artemis had indeed been here as Zoë seemed to think.

Which should be easy enough to identify if they were indeed here, after all gods were immensely powerful, alien beings whose mere presence shifted and changed the world around them.

That said though the signs could be subtle, and easily overlooked, unless you were specifically looking for them.

Apollo for example, his presence could cause the average temperature of an area to rise, and in some cases cause a mini heatwave to unexpectedly hit the area. Or, in less subtle cases, his mere presence could cause drought and wild fires, with the intensity of these 'natural' events increasing the longer he stayed around.

Artemis meanwhile, her presence could result in nature becoming more bountiful and vibrant. Or in woodland creatures, dryads, satyrs and the like gathering up, after being drown in by her mere presence.

Either way gods left a tangible mark on the world when they passed, even the subtler gods, like Artemis. Though admittedly there were many different ways they could affect their surroundings, especially those gods, like Artemis, who ruled over more than one Domain.

Of course in this case neither of them had to look very hard to see something unusual, something that really didn't belong. Empousai; beautiful, goat legged, red eyed, vampiric women. Not the kind of being that regularly visited museums, especially not a group of them.

No, Percy knew that they usually had other, 'better', things to do than absorbing culture at a museum. Such as hunting down and eating Demigods. Or just seducing and then, brutally murdering mortals. As a rule Empousai were pretty one tracked.

Noticing the trio of monster just up ahead, Percy quickly made note of the direction they were walking in, even as nudged Thalia gently in the side with his elbow.

The Daughter of Zeus starting slightly as she tore her gaze away from a nearby poster which was advertising the Egyptian Exhibition, with a large image of the bird headed God of the Sun, Ra, quite prominent, even as she turned to give him a quizzical look.

Putting a finger to his lips, Percy nudged her gently in the ribs again, before he pointed at the retreating backs of the monsters. His dark eyes narrowed, as he then tugged the surprised, but blessedly quiet, girl's sleeve and started to follow them from a distance.

With him angling them so that they skirted around the edge of the room, more often than not hidden by the other visitors to the museum as they followed after the retreating backs of the monsters.

"Percy, we should get the others." Thalia whispered, her breath hot against the side of his face as she leaned closer to his ear as she spoke.

"No, not yet. We don't know where they're going. If we head off now we might lose them," Percy whispered back, putting his arm around her as he tried to make it seem like they were just a young couple that were spending a snowy day visiting the museum. "I think we should follow them, see where they're going and then get the others."

Shifting closer to him, Thalia slipped her own arm around his waist, even as she leaned to whisper in his ear again. Masking her actions by leaning her head on his broad shoulder, a surprisingly demure action for the usually fiery, strong-willed beauty. "If we're not careful they might smell us. The Mist can only do so much when it comes to Monster. Especially with me being a child of the Big Three."

"True, so let's just be careful and keep our distance." Percy muttered back just as quietly, their faces mere inches apart now. His eyes roving over her delicate features, sky blue eyes, and pink lips for a moment, before he quickly turned away and smiled, pointing at a nearby statue in interest as they passed by a large group of foreign tourists, French by the sound so it. His arm still around her as they continued to follow the Empousai, at a safe distance, though the building.

**( - )**

**(A few minutes later)**

A few minutes after they had started following them, they both soon came to a stop as they saw the trio of Empousai slip into the currently closed dinosaur exhibit, the large door to the exhibit closing quietly behind the monsters as they slipped inside unnoticed by any of the other visitors to the museum, or the guards.

"Right, you head off and get the others. Bring them here if you can. I'll head inside and see what's going on." Percy said, the two of them breaking apart as he did so. A flash of reluctance passing through him for a moment, before he quickly focused his mind on the here and now.

"It's too dangerous for you to go alone, I'll come with you." Thalia replied firmly, her blue eyes locked unerringly on his face as she did so.

"Not when I can become invisible at will." Percy shot back, before, when he noticed the stubborn expression on his face he continued. "Also remember, you're a child of the Big Three, your Demigod scent is much stronger than mine."

Narrowing her eyes at that, Thalia continued to watch him for a moment. Worrying at her bottom lip as she did so, before with an expression of stubborn reluctance on her face, she nodded. "Fine, but be careful."

"I always am." Percy smiled back cockily, before with a nod and a brief pat on her shoulder he turned and headed for the closed door, most of his body fading from view as he opened it a crack and then made to slip through it and to the other side.

Thalia meanwhile sent him one last look before he closed the door, even as she turned and started to fast walk back the way they had just come.

Closing the door quietly behind him, Percy almost had a heart attack when he turned back around, only to find himself nearly face to face with a giant skeleton of a T-rex. The unexpected sight jolting him, and making him jump. But only for a moment, before he calmed his nerves and slunk passed the skeleton. Mentally cursing himself for being an idiot as he did so.

Continuing on further through the room, Percy idly played with the Imperial Gold ring on his hand. His eyes flicking left and right and he looked for any sign of danger.

The moment he saw something, he was prepared to shift the ring into its gladius form and defend himself.

Quietly walking forward, flitting from column to column, and using the exhibits to cover his already partially invisible form. Percy eventually found himself facing another set of large, wooden doors. Only this set of doors, unlike the other, had a pair of armed mercenaries standing either side of it. Both carrying gleaming black machine guns, and wearing black combat fatigues and Kevlar vests.

Narrowing his eyes at the sight of the two guards, Percy eyed the heavy wooden doors and analysed the chances of him getting passed the two guards unnoticed.

If he had any talent with manipulating the Mist, like Thalia seemed to have, then he could have befuddled the two of them and just walked passed, unfortunately though that was a skill he had yet to acquire.

On the other hand he could strip off his armour, the only things on his person that he couldn't make go invisible, and then, using the gifts he had received from Melinoe, he could phase through the door like a ghost, unseen, and enter that way.

Unfortunately such an action would leave him unarmoured once he got to the other side unnoticed, and since he didn't know what was on the other side of the door that could be dangerous. On top of which, he hadn't mastered the gifts he had received from Melinoe quite yet, after all he had only had them for a few days.

He knew he could make himself intangible, and could focus it into different parts of his body, but he didn't know how long he could hold if for, or for that matter, whether he could make his entire body intangible yet.

Which meant using the untested power at the moment was potentially dangerous as he could very easily find himself re-materialising in the middle of the door, and thus killing himself, if he wasn't extremely careful. On top of which, surely there were limits to the power, after all if he did become fully intangible, then wouldn't gravity take hold, and consequently drag his intangible form through the earth?

No, there were too many unknown factors for him to use his new Demigod ability in such a risky way, not when there were other ways he could do this.

Setting his mouth in a grim line at that thought, Percy pushed away from the wall and approached the mercenaries, his all but invisible form causing the air to ripple slightly around him. His coat covered up the armour, but it could only do so much to hide the faintly glowing Divine metal from view, even with him bending the light around him to hide it.

"Hey, Dave, do you see something there?" One of the mercenaries asked his fellow.

"Wha…" Dave went to say.

Before he could however, Percy had lunged forward, the ring on his hand shifting smoothly into the form of an Imperial Gold gladius, even as he rammed the short blade through the man's, Dave's, throat. Blood spraying out of his neck as the black clad mercenary slumped back against the wall, gurgling as he futilely attempted to stem the blood flowing from his gaping neck wound.

A wound made worse when Percy wrenched the blade from his neck, and turned to the other guard. His free hand already moving to cover the startled guard's mouth, his palm glowing a burning white as he grabbed the man's face and slammed him back and into the wall behind him.

A barely audible scream issuing forth from the struggling man for but a moment, before he died. His skin rapidly seaming, blistering, peeling, and then turning to ash as Percy rammed his head against the stone wall bordering the door. The man's entire head crumbling into ashes moments later as Percy released him and let him fall to the ground at Percy's feet.

Ignoring the stench of melted flesh, and the coppery taste of blood in his throat. Percy calmly and with practiced ease, grabbed the first man he had killed by his ankles and dragged him away from the door. With him instead depositing him in the corner of the room, his fellow guard's body joining him moments later.

After which, with that done, Percy then poured fire into both of his hands, making both calms burn white hot, the air around them rapidly heating as he then started to evaporate all the spilled blood. Following on from which he then used his booted foot to disperse the ash about on the ground, after which, barely even glancing at the two dead bodies in the corner of the room, he then snuck through the door.

The whole thing form confrontation to end, having taken him less than five minutes. It all having been done with practiced ease.

**( - )**

**(A few minutes later)**

Sliding through the door, Percy quietly closed it behind him. His attention entirely on the loud voices he could hear just ahead of him.

His dark eyes narrowing as he quietly padded forward, making sure to keep his partially invisible form hidden behind a nearby column, even as he surveyed what was going on in front of him.

With the first thing that caught Percy's attention being the giant of a man standing just a few metres away from him, his back currently to him. The man in question standing over nine feet tall, with immensely broad shoulders, and thick corded arms.

The man was a literal mountain of muscle.

That said his physical presence had nothing on the immense power Percy could feel rolling off of the Divine Being in front of him. A pressure forming on his shoulders just from being in close proximity to the man, a pressure that attempted to force him down to his knees in subservience.

To add to this, the power rolling off of the being in front of him was so thick and dense, that even breathing became difficult.

Pushing down the nauseous feeling in his stomach, Percy quickly mastered himself.

This was not the first god or Divine being he had come across, nor was he the most intense or powerful, not quite anyway.

That said though, the man was certainly up there with the strongest he had encountered, the fact that his mere presence seemed to be causing those around him difficulty breathing, even someone as powerful as he, Percy was, was evidence enough of that.

Though part of that Percy knew was because he hadn't gotten used to the man's presence yet, the longer he remained in close proximity to the man the more he knew he would adjust to the power that seemed to natural roll off of the man.

Still, the being in front of him was certainly something to behold.

That said he was not the only thing of note in the room. No, the next thing Percy noticed, apart from the dozen or so monsters, including Dracnea and Empousai in the room, was the skinny, blonde haired kid that stood opposite the giant of a man.

The blonde haired teen currently facing Percy due to his positioning, which allowed him to estimate that he was around seventeen or eighteen years old, with tanned skinned, grey or blue eyes and a noticeable scar running down his face.

The guy was certainly distinctive.

More than that though, he also matched the description that Percy had been given, by one of his contacts, of Luke Castellan. The traitorous Son of Hermes.

Keeping to the shadows, Percy didn't make a sound as he instead leant forward and listened in on their conversation. His expression hard, even as he noticed a couple of monsters approaching the larger man from the other side of the room.

"Do you have them?" The giant, silver skinned being demanded.

"Yes my lord." One of the Empousai replied, her voice sibilant and sultry as she bowed to the larger being.

"Good. Good. Now bury and water them." The man ordered, shifting his head to look at the dark haired Empousai, and at the canvas bag she was currently holding in her hands as he did so.

'Bury them and water them?' Percy thought, leaning forwards now his dark eyes narrowing in curiosity and concentration as he tried to work out what the giant man was up too. By the sounds of it he was planting something, but what that was he didn't know.

What was this, some kind of monster gardening club?

Maintaining his position, Percy watched as the monster emptied the bag, dropping a number of yellowy whitish things, they almost looked like giant teeth, onto the earth in a nearby exhibition, and then knelt down and started burying them in the ground. After which, without a word, another one of the vampiric monsters approached and then poured water over the now buried 'things'.

Leaning even further forward, his head now poking around the column, Percy watched the wet earth expectantly.

Something was sure to happen.

Around the room, the monsters, giant being and Luke all did the same.

With all of them soon being rewarded for their patience by a number of hands exploding out of the earth, the bony, grey hands, some of which still had mummified flesh clinging to them, scrabbling about for purchase. Before moments later a number of large, nasty looking skeletal warriors clambered out of the ground.

Holding back a breath at the sight of the menacing, undead beings. Percy quickly counted nine of the warriors, all of which soon clawed their way out of the earth and then came to a halt in front of the giant man.

"It always amuses me just how foolish mortals can be. How oblivious and small minded they truly are. To think they don't even know the difference between dinosaur teeth and dragon teeth." The giant, silver skinned man chuckled to himself, shaking his head in amusement.

The monsters that Percy could see shifting around awkwardly and glancing at one another, before one or two of them awkwardly laughed alongside their giant, immortal leader.

Cutting his laughter off a few moments later, the giant man snapped his attention to the blonde, "Do you have it Luke?" He then demanded.

"Yes General. It was taken from the lieutenant. I think her name is Zoë N…" Luke, started nervously, only for him to abruptly stop speaking when he saw the look on the giant's face and heard the General's angry response.

"Do not speak her name in my presence, boy!" The General hissed in fury, a ripple going through the air and earth around the man as he spoke. The marble flagstones beneath him cracking, and dust falling from the ceiling overhead in response to the man's anger.

"S… Sorry my lord." Luke stuttered, his gaze now directed firmly at the General's feet.

Waving his hand dismissively at the boy's words, the General instead took the proffered piece of silver clothing from Luke.

Something Percy quickly recognised as being a part of the standard huntress uniform.

Just how the older boy had gotten a hold of it, Percy wasn't entirely sure of yet. Though admittedly a cynical part of him strongly suspected that it was most likely taken by a traitor in the Camp.

As Percy thought this, the General had already approached the skeletal warriors and handed the clothing over to the undead beings, all of whom, showing a surprising amount of sentience, passed it around to one another, each of them smelling it as they did so.

"Good. Now that they have the scent they won't stop until she is dead." The General said, before he then turned and looked over at the blonde teen, "Remember Luke, you must separate the daughter of Zeus from the others. The beast will come to her."

Frowning at the mention of Thalia, and some kind of beast, Percy leant even further around the pillar, his focus now entirely on the General and Luke.

Only, before Luke could reply, the General suddenly whipped his head around, his pure, molten silver eyes locking with Percy's dark eyes, and his cruel, blunt features twisting into a snarl. "We have an eavesdropper Lock the building down!" The giant then hissed, his gaze boring into Percy, an oppressive force already starting to weigh down on the adopted son of Melinoe's shoulders as the giant immortal turned to fully face him.

**( - )**

**AN: So probably more canonish than I would have liked, but well, needs must. Soon though we'll be going off the rails, after all the Percy I've got in mind, as some of you have noted is not always likeable and is a selfish bastard at time. I.e. he's not the compliant, subservient hero type like canon Percy tends to be, once you cut through his bellyaching. Instead this one will happily do what he wants, when he wants to.**

**Which is probably a good thing as I know I want to explore more of the mythological world, and the different pantheon than what is covered in the book. Admittedly though the some of the Pantheons that are covered in the additional books Riordan has been publishing I'll be taking liberties with. I'll admit I've not read his Apollo books, and only read the first Magnus Chase book.**

**So yes, other than that I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and leave a review. Thanks for reading, and I'll catch you later.**

**Greed720.**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: So it hasn't been at all as long as last time, but despite that here I am with another chapter. Mainly though this is because I am still reading through my other stories, trying to refamiliarise myself with them after my brief hiatus. Plus I've also been cross posting some of my stuff on another site called Spacebattles. But yeah, here is the next update for this story, and I have to say it was a surprisingly hard chapter to write, much more so than I thought it would be. **

**That said I do hope you enjoy it and leave a review. Thanks for reading.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or the Riordanverse.**

** ( - )**

**(Last Time)**

_"Good. Now that they have the scent they won't stop until she is dead." The General said, before he then turned and looked over at the blonde teen, "Remember Luke, you must separate the daughter of Zeus from the others. The beast will come to her."_

_Frowning at the mention of Thalia, and some kind of beast, Percy leant even further around the pillar, his focus now entirely on the General and Luke._

_Only, before Luke could reply, the General suddenly whipped his head around, his pure, molten silver eyes locking with Percy's dark eyes, and his cruel, blunt features twisting into a snarl. "We have an eavesdropper Lock the building down!" The giant then hissed, his gaze boring into Percy, an oppressive force already starting to weigh down on the adopted son of Melinoe's shoulders as the giant immortal turned to fully face him._

**( - )**

**Chapter 9**

**( - )**

**(With Percy)**

A single moment passed as Percy's dark eyes locked with the general's coldly, amused eyes. Coal black eyes boring into icy, molten silver ones.

A single moment in which everyone in the room; monster, undead, Demigod and Immortal Being alike stared at him.

A single, oppressive moment that seemed, at least to him, to stretch a lifetime. Right up until he promptly turned and ran.

The oppressive power emanating off of the General weighing down on his as he fled, the chittering, screeching and shouting of the monster's in the room following after him as he ran. The monstrous beings in the room, Empousai, Scythian Dracaena, Hellhounds, Laistrygonian giants and skeletal warriors, quickly taking up the chase, their actions spurred on by the loud, immeasurably powerful voice of their immortal master.

"End him, and his companions." The General's voice echoed after him, the cold authority in his tone sending a shiver down Percy's spine as he threw the doors open and continued to run.

His body taking on a golden glow now as he drew on his Demigod ability, 'Meteor'. His body feeling a thousand times lighter as he used his ability to speed himself up. His feet barely making a sound as they pounded the marble slabs beneath him.

His every step taking him much further and faster than would normally be possible, even for a Demigod. A stream of golden light trailing behind him as he ran, and the air around him shimmering, and the floor beneath him cracking and warping at his passing.

Subtlety, and his cover as a Child of Melinoe, could take a hike right now as far as he was concerned. His life was far more important than any job or any secret.

Taking a risk as he reached the next set of doors, Percy chanced a look behind him, just in time to see dozens of monsters pouring through the doors at the other end of the room. An unnerving sight for sure, especially when the eldritch monsters of myth and legend chasing him, seemed to be clawing and fighting one another to be the one to catch up with him, and to be the one to gain their immortal master's favour.

More unnerving than even that though, were the skeletal beings that had just been summoned. Each one of the grey, fleshless monstrosities shoving aside other monsters as they pursued him. Their empty sockets fixed on him, and their movements jerky, yet vicious and relentless, like that of an automaton.

"Shit," Percy cursed, throwing the next set of doors open as he rushed through it, his mind moving a mile a minute as he started running down the hallway, ignoring the shouts and cries of the mortals around him as he barged and shoved his way past them.

The cries and shouts rapidly turning into shrieks and screams as the doors at the far end of the hall burst open with a loud bang, and the monster's pursuing him spilled out and into the mass of oblivious mortals.

Exactly what they saw, Percy didn't know. The Mist tended to manipulate what mortals saw into something more rational, something their closed minds' could better comprehend, in order to hide the Divine.

That said, whatever it was that the mortals behind him were seeing must've been especially inventive, as without even a pause the monsters started tearing into anything and everything that got in their way.

Claw like hands rending flesh, barbaric blades slashing and tearing at screaming, fleeing humans. Fangs biting through and ripping out throats and fleshy sinew from still living bodes.

Blood spattered the walls and floor behind him as he ran, with him occasionally hazarding a look back at the ensuing carnage. His lips firming into a grim line as he saw hungry, ancient monsters reduce once living humans down into little more than lumps of grizzled meat. Their current one track minds' still fixed on him as they continued their relentless pursuit.

The skeletons now in front as they bulldozed their way through panicking mortals, as they tried, and failed to catch up to the far faster Demigod.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!" Percy repeated, sweat beading on his forehead as he exploded out of the gallery and ran off in the direction that he had last seen the others going. Mortals spilling out behind him, clogging up the doorway, their panic rapidly spreading throughout the entire Smithsonian as the monsters' continued to rip and tear into the panicking mass.

"Percy!" Thalia shouted, her voice catching his attention as the glow around him faded. His eyes flitting over to where the dark haired girl was waving to him from a dozen or so metres away, her brow furrowed in concern. "What in Hades is going on?"

"Monsters, and skeletons and fuck knows what else!" Percy shouted back, changing direction and shoving his way through the crowd as he ran over to the girl.

Noting as he did that the other three members of their party were with her; Zoe, Bianca and Phoebe all standing beside her their bows drawn and their expressions tense. "A Titan I think is here, him and that Hermes brat, Luke. They've summoned some skeleton warriors and have sent them, and fuck knows how many monsters after me, and after you, Zoe!" Percy finished, gesturing at Zoe as he came to a halt just in front of the four.

"What are you saying, why are they after Zoe?!" Phoebe snapped, ignoring the mortals running all over the place in panic, and the continued screaming and shouting as she instead locked gazes with Percy.

"Don't know, probably because they know that she is probably the one leading the rescue effort to find and save Artemis." Percy shrugged, before he continued on, his eyes flitting back to the building he had just exited. "But we can talk about that later. For now we need to get out of here, and either; find somewhere more defensible, or, well fuck if I know, just get out of here, this place is too open and too full of mortals!"

"He's right!" Zoe said instantly, her face firming up as it changed from surprise, with a slight hint of concern, and instead into a look of determination. "We need to distract the monsters from the mortals and draw them into an environment that favours us!"

"No, we need to get the fuck out of here!" Percy shot back, his breathing still rushed as mortals continued to flee all around him, and monsters began to emerge out of the main building. Some springing from the doorway, their bodies drenched in blood and gore, whilst other leapt out of windows, shattering glass and cracking tarmac as they landed.

The newly arrived monsters' gazes quickly falling on Thalia, the three Hunters, and him.

"I don't think you understood the part about, Titan! Some giant, silver fucker called 'the General!'" Percy continued, pulling his borrowed longbow, courtesy of Camp Half Blood, out of his satchel, even as he pulled out a wrapped up sheath of arrows to go with it. "We need to retreat!"

Zoe's face noticeably went pale at the mentioned of 'the General'. Phoebe sending her a worried look as she did so.

Thalia however shrugged her shoulders, and lowered her spear. "A fighting retreat then."

"No, we are leaving right now." Zoe snapped in response, her eyes widening as three of the skeletal warriors shoved their way to the front of the mass of oncoming monsters. The mob numbering close to forty strong now. The panicking mortals now either dead, or long gone, freeing up the oncoming hordes' path.

"Spartus!" Phoebe hissed at the sight of the warriors.

Percy didn't even bother asking, instead he turned and ran. Bianca quickly following after him, with Zoe, Thalia and Phoebe then trailing after him. Thalia occasionally turning to send blasts of lightning from her spear at the pursuing monsters.

The bolts reducing one or two of the monsters to golden dust with each blast. Percy, Bianca, Phoebe and Zoë meanwhile all adding their own arrows to the mix as they continued to retreat. The arrows scything down monsters left and right, as the group of five retreated up some steps and into the another one of the buildings. The National Air and Space Museum.

"We can't keep this up!" Percy shouted, unloosing one of the Celestial Bronze arrows as he did so, the bodkin head smashing into, and through the skull of one of the 'Spartus', felling the warrior for a moment. Only for it to then stand up moments later, its gnarled, bony, claw like hand pulling the arrow out of its skull as it continued to pursue them.

"Less talking, more fighting!" Thalia snapped back.

"It's not working." Percy replied, felling a Laistrygonian giant as he put an arrow through its eye socket. They were rapidly reducing the normal monsters to dust, a task made easier with four of them, Zoe, Phoebe, Thalia and himself, being present, and either immensely powerful, and/ or highly skilled and experienced in monster killing. "Those skeletons aren't staying down."

"That's because their Spartus, they are not just any common monster." Phoebe snapped back, the five of them now standing on the second floor of the National Air and Space Museum. Sniping down the monsters that were attempting to rush their positon. They had been herded, and were now trapped.

"I don't know what they are. Still, I'm just glad that that 'General' guy didn't bother joining in the chase." Percy replied, releasing another arrow as he did so. They had been retreating/ fighting for ten minutes now, and already he was down to his last sheaf of arrows. The way things were going wasn't sustainable.

Already he could hear sirens outside and the sound of gunfire.

Though whether the police, and which ever other emergency service that had arrived, were fighting monsters or mercenaries though, he didn't know.

Nor did he particularly care at the moment.

Either way they were on a time limit. Either the police would all be massacred. After which the ones fighting them would come in here as reinforcements. That or the General would call off his minions, and thus allow the police to rush into the building, at which point they would have to fight the police off to avoid arrest.

No matter what happened, they were probably screwed.

"We'll need to make a break for it soon, we can't keep this up." Thalia spoke up, her breathing heavy, and the stench of ozone rolling off of her form as she blocked the stairway with her shield, scaring and impaling any monster that made it up to her, and then raining lighting down on the mass of monsters below whenever she got the space and opportunity too.

Despite whittling down the monster's numbers, there were still close to thirty of them left, more having arrived as reinforcements over the last ten minutes. On top of which there were a dozen of the implacable Spartus trying to get at the too.

The skeletal fuckers that wouldn't go down, no matter how many times they were shot and hit with lightning.

No, for some reason that only kept them down for a short while, after which they would start get up again. Their bones moulding back together and reforming, even after being blasted into splinters by Thalia's lightning. Which of course meant that the five of them had to keep futilely wasting ammo and energy bringing them down when they could, just to stop them from being overwhelmed.

"Hey ghost boy, don't you have some power to deal with this shit?" Phoebe snapped, looking sideways at him. "You're a brat of one of the Underworld goddesses aren't you!?"

"Do they look like ghosts to you?!" Percy snapped back, blood running down his hand as he continued to nock arrows, and release them, his movements practiced and fluid, even as the weight of the two hundred pound bow began to wear him down, and the reinforced string began to cut into his heavily callused fingers.

"Only a Child of Hades could turn away a Spartus and force them back to into the Underworld. That or a god. Otherwise we would need to defeat the summoner, which is not a possible task." Zoe replied swiftly.

"Oh great, do any of you happen to have a spawn of Hades just lying around?!" Thalia shot back sarcastically. Jabbing her spear forward with brutal force as she knocked a snarling Empousai back down the stairs and into one of the advancing Spartus.

The skeletal warrior lashing out with its arm in response, reducing the screeching monsters into gold dust as it then continued trying to ascend the stairs. Only for a silver tipped arrow to smack into its head, and knock it back down the stairs moments later.

Percy couldn't help looking sideways at the sweating and exhausted Bianca, as he heard Thalia's sarcastic comment.

"No, but you were right in that we can't keep this up." Zoe replied, a shadow of a grimace passing across her face as she admitted the daughter of Zeus was correct about something. "We will need to create a distraction so that we can escape."

"Any volunteers?" Percy asked bluntly. "Because I'm sure as fuck not sacrificing myself to save you lot, no offense."

"Typical scavenger." Phoebe muttered in disgust.

"I prefer survivor," Percy shot back. "Though I don't see you volunteering. Surely one of you immortal Hunter types have lived long enough that you're ready for some eternal rest?"

"Nobody is sacrificing themselves!" Thalia cut in sharply.

"Then what is the plan?" Percy asked, throwing the bow to the side as he did so, he didn't have the time to stow it away properly, and with him being out of arrows it was useless to him otherwise.

Arming himself with his Khopesh and Imperial Gold Gladius, Percy glanced to the other Hunters, all of whom looked to have nearly run out of ammo too. "Because this isn't how I intend to die!"

"Welcome to the club!" Thalia shouted back, her shield in front of her as she saw two more Spartus climbing the staircase. Neither of which so much as flinched at the sight of the gorgon head embossed onto the silver shield's surface.

Before Percy could reply, he and the rest of the group, along with the remaining fifteen or so monsters froze momentarily as a loud growl echoed across the room. The deep sound easily audible over the sound of battle, and the sirens and gunshots still going off outside, the resonance of the growl sending shivers through Percy's body as he quickly started looking around for the source.

A feeling of foreboding rapidly overcoming him, as the growling continued.

Down on the ground floor, the remaining monsters' seemed to be overcome with the same feeling, as moments later they scattered, until the only ones in the room were the Spartus and their group.

Drawing her arrow back on the string of her bow, Zoe's mouth barely moved as she spoke. "Everyone get ready."

"That growl, it sounds familiar." Phoebe tagged on, her eyes locked on the Spartus as they continued to try and climb the staircase, and advance on their positon.

Growling himself at this, Percy gripped his swords tighter, and them slightly. His dark eyes flicking to the sides of the stairs, as he pondered destroying the staircase, a task made more difficult by its solid build. Not that that would be much help in stopping the implacable Spartus'. "You fancy enlightening us on what that is?"

In the end though, Zoe didn't need to enlighten them on what was coming.

Not when, with a loud bang, a gigantic golden lion, crashed down onto the floor. A deafening roar leaving it's maw as it landed, the tile floor shattering beneath it, and several of the Spartus' going flying as the colossal cat, which was over ten feet tall at its shoulder, turned to look at them.

The giant lion's black lips curling upwards, to reveal gleaming, yellow fangs as it stared up at them. Its immense muscles bulging as it lowered itself closer to the ground, preparing to pounce. A single flick of its tail sending a Spartus flying into a nearby space shuttle that was hanging from the ceiling, bringing both the model and the skeletal warrior crashing down to the floor with an almighty crunch.

"That fucker, he sent the Nemean Lion after us!" Percy gasped out, sweat beading down his forehead as he stared down at the beast of legend. A monster so powerful that even other monster's feared it. A creature with hide harder than diamond, and claws that could rend the Divine metal into scraps with ease.

"Can we please start running now?" Bianca asked, her voice faint and hoarse as she stared at the giant cat, and the skeletal warriors, which even as they watched, recovered and continued their approach.

Letting out a roar, the lion started stalking towards the group.

"Everyone split up." Zoe yelled straightaway, releasing an arrow aimed at the beast's eyes, even as she and a scared looking Bianca ran to the left, while Phoebe ran to the right. Both groups of Hunter's adapting on the fly. "We'll keep the Spartus down, and wait for a chance to kill the lion. You two distract it!"

With that said the trio ran off, their actions leaving Percy and Thalia standing alone at the top of the staircase, both of them looking down at the Spartus and the Nemean Lion for a moment, before exchanging glances.

"You're not asking for much, are you!?" Percy shot back, only to be ignored as Zoe instead shot one of the skeletons' in the head, the arrow going straight through the skull and knocking the Spartus to the ground with a clatter of bones.

"You distract it with your ghost thing, I'll try to find a way to finish it!" Thalia shouted to him, as she ran down the steps, kicking up golden dust as she then skidded to a stop at the bottom of the staircase, and then ran away from the lion as it pounced.

The force of its pounce causing the staircase to partially collapse as it skidded on the marble floor into it, which in turn nearly sent Percy flying.

"This is so not what I signed up for," Percy grit out, leaping off of the staircase himself now, bending his legs as he hit the floor, and then ducking a swing from one of the Spartus. His Khopesh whipping around to catch the skeleton's sword in the curve of his blade, even as he ducked around it, sweeping its blade away from it's body to leave an opening, before he then lashed out with the Gladius, impaling it through the gut, partially severing its spine.

Kicking the Skelton away, his gaze flicked down to its damaged spine as he did so. The bastard's vertebrae were already moulding back together, fixing the damage he had caused.

Unfortunately Percy didn't have long to look, as moments later he had to throw himself backwards as the lion lunged at him. Its clawed golden paw ripping the remains of the stairs to pieces, as Percy then proceeded to sprint away.

The lion alternating between chasing him, and chasing Thalia, as the daughter of Zeus sent blasts of lightning at the cat, attracting its attention, only for Percy to then shout, or throw something at it to regain its attention.

The both of them practically running in circles around the beast, occasionally avoiding Spartus as they weaved in and around the different attractions. Arrows occasionally striking down a Spartus that got to close as they manoeuvred around the lion.

"The mouth is the weakness, isn't it?" Percy shouted as he slid under a model of a 'moon buggy' thing. The buggy itself going flying moments later as the lion attempted to swipe at him.

"Yeah, that and its eyes. But it seems to realise that, as it is keeping its eyes squinted, and its mouth closed." Thalia shouted back shortly, her spikey black hair now matted to her face, and her breaths coming out more like rasps than anything. "We need to find a way to make it open its mouth!"

"Can't you just zap it, you know electrocute it?" Percy shouted back, once again sliding onto the floor. Only this time he did so to avoid the swing of a Spartus' sword, the momentum of his slide knocking the skeleton clear off of its feet as he did so.

"I've not got much juice left!" Thalia replied grudgingly, bashing her shield into one of the Spartus' knocking it back a step, only for her to then flee as the lion leapt at her, incidentally crushing the Spartus beneath its paws and sending its bones clattering across the floor all around it.

Looking around Percy could see that at least nine of the Spartus' were now down, most of them just scattered bones. Bones that were slowly but surely clattering and scraping across the floor as the foul, necromantic magic that powered the eldritch monsters tried to put them back together.

"Percy, watch out!" Thalia shouted, catching his attention as he turned and saw the Nemean Lion leaping at him, mere metres away. The annoyingly intelligent beast taking advantage of his momentary pause.

"Shit!" Percy shouted, throwing his arms up instinctually as he did so, even as he drew on Melinoe's power to go intangible with everything he had.

In response he suddenly felt very light, and very lightheaded. His head raising to look up at the lion as it leapt at him, only for him to have to continue looking up as he felt his body sinking uncontrollably through the earth below him. His vision soon going dark as he completely disappeared below the surface.

Letting out a gasp at this, his mind already whirling as he tried to work out how to get himself out of the ground. It felt like he was in a void, he couldn't breathe, or smell, or taste or see or touch, or anything! It was terrifying, and suffocating.

Moments later however, though it felt like hours, he felt his intangibility vanishing, the earth promptly spitting him out moments later. His own eyes wide as he then smacked into the floor and rolled. The lion noticeably skidding on the floor a dozen or so feet away, already turning to pounce at him again.

"Nice dodge!" Thalia shouted, running passed him as she did so, lightning crackling on her spear as she rushed in, dodged the lion's retaliatory paw swipe, and jabbed it in the side.

"Er, yeah…" Percy replied slightly breathless. That wasn't something he was going to do again anytime soon. The unnerving feeling of sinking through the earth, unable to breathe, or to get any traction. It was honestly terrifying.

"Spartus behind you Jackson! Get your head back in the fight!" Phoebe's voice sounded out, catching Percy's attention as he twisted around, already jumping to his feet. His mind snapping back to the here and now as an arrow whizzed over his shoulder and bounced off of the Spartus' sword, glancing off of it mid swing.

Letting out a breath of barely constrained anger and fear, Percy's heart hammered in his chest as he just lost all sense of restraint and patience.

Fuck this, was all he thought, his eyes glowing golden as he returned his Gladius to its ring form. His Khopesh whipping up and around, striking the Spartus' sword mid swing, adding to its momentum as he duck, making it miss him by mere inches.

He didn't care though, not at moment.

No, all he felt at the moment was anger and fear, in equal measure.

Thrusting his now free hand forward, Percy didn't flinch or hesitate as he wrapped his hand around the skeleton's bony, sharp spine. The hand visibly glowing a golden white. But only for a moment before fire erupted from it, exploding forth in moments and completely consuming the skeleton in golden fire as it did so.

"Burn fucker!" Percy bellowed, his eyes gleaming golden now as he continued to bathe the Spartus in fire. The golden flames eating away at what little flesh remained on its bones, before it then consumed the bones. His fire rapidly reducing the Spartus to ash in seconds.

"Percy, how…!?" Thalia gasped, momentarily looking Percy's way as she did so. The eyes of the Hunters resting on him too.

Not that he cared, not when his heart was still hammering in his chest, sweat beading on his forehead.

No, he didn't care right now. Not about them, not about his mission, not with the furnace of anger and fury burning away in his chest.

No, at this moment in time all he cared about was destroying these gods' damned skeletons and, that fucking lion!

"Get out of the way Thalia!" Percy shouted, his eyes leaving behind literal trails of golden light as he moved. Both hands now wreathed in golden fire as he dropped his sword, letting the Celestial Bronze blade clatter on the floor below him.

Taking one look at him, Thalia needed to hear no more. Without a word she turned and ran, running up the wing of a nearby fallen plane, one which had until recently hung suspended from wires by the ceiling, she then managed to vault off of the wing, gaining just enough height to grip onto the ledge of the balcony overhead.

Glancing in her direction to make sure she was out of the way. Percy waited only a moment for her to pull herself up and onto the balcony, his gaze surveying the reforming Spartus', growling Nemean Lion, and advancing already formed Spartus' for a moment. At his feet he could see the ashes were already starting to shift.

Curling his lip in anger at this, Percy let out a bellow of anger, even as he threw his hands out in front of him. Channelling all his anger from this situation, and the fear that had pervaded him ever since he had felt the Titan's gaze on him.

All of it he forced into the fire he unleashed from his hands.

Golden flames erupting forth in a torrent that quickly swept through the area all around him, consuming fallen planes, shuttles and the Spartus. The flames egged on and strengthened by the sun that shone through the glass ceiling overhead, the beams of light just visible through the charcoal grey sky.

"Burn!" Percy shouted, his eyes gleaming golden as he continued to bathe everything around him in purifying fire. His flames raising the heat in the room by dozens of degrees in seconds, causing sweat to bead on all of the watching Demigod's faces as the fire rapidly began to consume the Spartus' below.

From the side the Nemean Lion let loose a roar of surprise and irritation as the sea of all consuming golden flames lapped at its body. The fire, which was noticeably hot enough to crack stone, and reduce metal into molten slag, not effecting the lion in the slightest. Or at least not in the conventional sense.

The amount of heat the fire created though, as it swept across the floor; burning and devouring all the oxygen in the area was enough to effect the giant cat though. Enough to get it to roar and open its mouth wide as it desperately attempted to breath. Which was all Zoe Nightshade needed to land an arrow straight through the monster's throat and into the back of its head. The single shot reducing the monster to golden dust, even as flames continued to eat away at the surrounding area.

**( - )**

**AN: So that turned into a real shit show didn't it. As I said it was a difficult chapter to write, but hopefully it works. That said I would love to hear some feedback.**

**It was also I admit very action heavy, and yes there was a lot of swearing, then again most of us were teenagers once, and can remember how fun it was to swear back then. I mean I used to do it every other word when I was playing rugby and such, and only really restrained myself when I was in school and around my parents. Which in Percy's case aren't existent, plus he's in a mighty stressful situation right now and has to deal with a bunch of rascally undead, and a mangy cat. **

**But anyway yes, that's the update, I hope you enjoyed it and leave a review. Also please do checkout my other stories if you have the time, there may be some you like.**

**Thanks for reading, and I'll catch you later.**

**Greed720.**


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